Young Justice: Echo, Volume One
by Familiar47
Summary: In the Aftermath of the Reach Invasion, a new team is formed just as the Light makes its move. At the same time a force infinitely deadlier prepares to harvest Earth after destroying its champions.
1. Episode One

Young Justice Echo, Volume One

_In the aftermath of the Reach Invasion's failure, new heroes have stepped up to join the combined forces of the Justice League and Young Justice. A new team, Echo, has been formed and immediately finds themselves facing a new enemy, and a new invasion._

I do not own The Justice League, Young Justice, or any and all characters associated with either the shows, comics, etc. All are property of DC Comics.

**Young Justice Roster**

**ECHO Team**

**Number/Alias/Power(s)**

**1- Nathaniel Shepherd/All Star/Kinetic energy Manipulation**

**2- Victor Stone/Cyborg/Cybernetic Enhancements**

**3- Delilah Knight/Daemon/Metamorphosis, augmented strength, magic**

**4- Yet to be designated **

**5- Yet to be designated**

**TRAINING DATA**

**Nathaniel Shepherd**

**Age: 16**

**Place of Birth: Gotham City, America**

**Background Data: Minor criminal record, expunged. Was recruited into committing small crimes alongside his brother Robert when their Meta-Genes manifested around the same time. Nathan was convinced by Nightwing after helping to save lives during a robbery gone wrong to stop letting his brother order him to do wrong. Nathan fought and defeated his brother in a vicious battle, during which Nathan accidently caused the death of the criminal ring leader of their gang.**

**Afterwards, Nightwing allowed Nathan to apply to become a member of Young Justice in a few years on the condition that he undergo training. With help from Batman, Nightwing arranged for Nathan to receive training from martial artists, other heroes, and even provided a computer simulation program to test his ability to think under stress. After three years of training Nathan was finally given permission to form his own hero identity.**

**His father, who has hesitantly supported Nathan's decision, funded his son in his endeavour using money earned from their international company: All Star Sports Equipment. With the weapons provided and based off of sports equipment where able, Nathan took on the Alias of All-Star.**

**His most advanced piece of equipment is a Kinetic Energy Cell which allows Nathan to absorb energy from blows and store them in the cell for later use.**

**All-Star is slated to begin service as a member of Echo Team, pending designation as Team Leader if able to prove himself capable.**

**Delilah Knight**

**Age: 18**

**Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario, Canada**

**Background: No criminal record, but was caught using her powers for violence before being rehabilitated.**

**Delilah's father, James Knight, was an associate of Intergang and often was provided with advanced technology and magical secrets in return for his assistance. At one point he volunteered Delilah, who had an inactive Meta-Gene, for an experiment based off of the Reach's efforts to 'weaponize' the meta gene. The experiment also involved mutating the Meta-Gene to manipulate what powers it would provide. In this case a magical aura was applied to the meta gene during the process, resulting in Delilah gaining the following powers.**

**1- The ability to take on what she calls a 'demon form'**

**2- Enhanced strength**

**3- Magical lightning.**

**4- Flight.**

**5- Other magical abilities have manifested at random.**

**6- Natural magical pathways in her body.**

**After carelessly using her powers at one point when angered in public, Delilah was apprehended by Zatara, Captain Marvel and the Martian Manhunter. However the Manhunter read her mind and took pity on her, suggesting that in return for her cooperating they could make an exception for her actions, which had not cost any lives or caused any serious injury before they had stopped her.**

**Delilah testified against her father after several weeks of convincing from the Martian Manhunter and Ms Martian. James Knight and numerous Intergang Operatives were arrested, and dozens of arrests of accused informants and financial backers were made later. A hit was put out on Delilah, who was attacked while in public and accompanied by Young Justice Operatives Robin and Wonder Girl. They managed to fight off the assassins, and Delilah became convinced to give a career as a super hero a try.**

**She is now slated to join Echo Team, pending designation as Team Leader if able to prove herself capable.**

**Victor Stone**

**Age: 18**

**Bacgkround: No criminal record.**

**Victor is the son of STAR scientist Silas Stone, and a former Highschool Football player with multiple offers of scholarship from colleges all around the country. However after an explosion at STAR labs, Victor's body was heavily damaged. Silas quickly began operations on his son, using classified technologies including a new nanites serum that encourage cellular regeneration in the remaining active systems in Victor's body. Other augmentations have resulted in a good deal of Victor's body being replaced by cybernetics, and the most significant modification was the addition of a Mother Box being researched at STAR labs at the time of the explosion.**

**Victor is now gifted with superhuman strength, speed, endurance, durability, the ability to manually interface with computers using his own body, stabilized flight from a series of thrusters built into concealed compartments; he possesses an integrated weapon's system including a Sonic Cannon, missiles, electrical weaponry. In addition he also has a series of electronic sensors and his basic sight and hearing are greatly enhanced.**

**The Mother Box has also granted him the ability to manually create Boom Tubes, however at a great personal cost to his onboard power supply.**

**Victor assisted with a recent skirmish from Apokalips' Para Demon invasion force, and was considered for active duty on the Justice League; however he wished to first join Young Justice so that he could be more carefully introduced to the world of crime fighting.**

**He is now slated to begin service as a member of Echo Team, pending designation as Team Leader if he proves himself capable.**

Xxx

YOUNG JUSTICE, SEASON THREE, ECHO

EPISODE ONE- Arrangement

**Gotham City, Harbor Area**

**2:32 AM, April 3****rd****, 2017**

The area around a large freighter was buzzing with activity despite the early hour. It was still dark, and the men were keeping quiet for the sake of not attracting attention. They knew that in Gotham you were in the greatest danger by night no matter what your numbers were, but luckily the Bat Clan was to be preoccupied with a series of robberies perpetrated by the Joker recently.

One man stood out among the dozens working to unload several crates. He was clad in a dark armored attire except for his mask, which was split down the middle. One side was black and had no hole in it for him to see through, while the other was orange and allowed the man to see with his only eye. A pair of katana rested on his back, and he was cradling an assault rifle in his arms.

"We're almost done here, Mr Wilson." Another man clad in dark body armor said as he approached Slade 'Deathstroke' Wilson, who stood on a crate overlooking the activity. "All units report no activity on the perimeter."

"Have them double check," Deathstroke didn't take his eye off of the men below. "In Gotham, every shadow is your enemy. I'm sure your master taught you that much."

The second of the men was a member of the League of Assassins, one of dozens dispatched here to assist Deathstroke. The confusing part was that they were all there to watch over an exchange with Intergang, which had made itself an enemy of The Light, the alliance of the world's most deadly super villains. Almost a year ago the former leader of Intergang, Bruno 'Ugly' Manheim and his Lieutenant Whisper D'aire were rendered catatonic by Sportsmaster on orders from The Light. This has made a rift between the two organizations, and only through the new council leading Intergang were relations beginning to mend.

Slade, The Light's current enforcer, had only recently escaped custody after being ambushed and captured by AquaLad, the current leader of Young Justice. It was a blow to his reputation that a 'junior hero' had beaten him, but a few high level assassinations had reminded the world that Slade Wilson hadn't lost his touch.

"...we're compromised," The veteran assassin gruffly stated, surprising the League Assassin next to him.

"What? But-" Deathstroke cut him off with one raised arm and turned around.

"I'll be back," Slade paused to give one last order. "...tell your men that they are authorized to use lethal force." He stepped off of the crate and jumped down casually to the ground below.

Xxx

On the far side of the loading area Slade had seen a single figure moving across the tops of the crates with his chemically enhanced vision. One would have mistaken it for the patrolling League Assassins, but even at the distance Slade had been standing at he had clearly seen that the form was too small and slender, and wore clothing just a shade too bright...

And that figure managed to drop down on one of the patrolling Intergang member, a quick strike to the back of the skull knocking the man down. The assailant examined the discarded rifle, the inside of his dark tinted goggles lighting up as he scanned it. "_Log: Illegal weapon is Reach Tech, modified and reverse engineered into a rifle shape._" He set the rifle down. "_Log: Intergang activity confirmed. Reconnaissance completed, returning to base._"

A familiar noise of a blade whizzing through the air enabled the intruder to turn and spin out of the way of the large shuriken which would have buried itself into the back of his unprotected head had he been any slower. He back flipped nimbly and crouched, facing the half dozen League Assassins who all dropped down in unison from nearby shadows, each wielding blades of their own. A seventh came into view from above, flinging two more shuriken at the dark haired intruder, who raised his right arm and tapped a button on the inside of his forearm. A metallic shield spread out from his arm and sent the shuriken pinging off.

"_Log, _" The masked youth said, breathing heavily as adrenaline flowed through him, fear and nervous anticipation motivating him to draw a weapon as the League Assassins charged for him. "_League of Assassins are present. Recon compromised! Request backup!_"

A long staff extended outwards, gripped in both of his hands as one end popped open to show three prongs that sparked with electricity. The Assassins struck as one perfect unit, and it was only through the youth's sheer speed and strength that he managed to counter or dodge their blows. He spun his staff, twisting his body and ducking. The metal pole actually intercepted several attacks, while the young masked intruder himself was forced to dodge the rest as the Assassins swarmed around him.

The prongs of his staff stuck into the shoulder of one assassin, going between the armor components he wore and piercing his clothing. The assassin went into spasms and collapsed as he received the equivalent of a full tazer shock. Before he could pull his staff back one of the assassins sliced through the middle of it...

And All-Star, now revealed by the light of a flare launched up from nearby, spun the two halves in each hand and struck the katana wielding assassin in the skull and multiple joints in the span of two seconds before spinning and kicking him away. The assassins were put off by how fast their prey was moving; usually they were superior in speed and strength, but this boy was clearly much faster.

He wore a dark grey suit laced with body armor, and was sleeveless; however gauntlets covered his arms up to the elbows, and black leather gloves fit over his strong hands. For a mask he wore two articles: a dark grey metallic mask that was like a gas mask, and a set of goggles with tinted lenses so dark that his eyes couldn't be seen. His dark hair was cut into a short crew cut, but that was the only physical feature they would get from him in this disguise.

Slade watched as the masked hero known as All Star, a relatively new member of the ever growing number of heroes walking the Earth began to take on the now five person team of Assassins. The boy was clearly trained, and was good...but he was uninitiated, new, green and most of all he wasn't able to dodge and block everything.

A cut on his bicep, a punch to the jaw; All Star was relying on his superior speed and armor to make up for his lack of experience against the professional warriors of the League. He fired a pair of lines from his right gauntlet which stuck into the chest of one of the men, piercing the armor over his chest and allowing All Star to taze him to the ground before another of the four remaining fighters moved in, his swords vectoring on the boy's throat.

All Star saw the attack coming and quickly twisted out of the way while wrapping the wires of his built in tazer around the man's left arm. He pulled them tight and forced the man's arm up and back while pressing himself back against the man's spine. He had the assassin's sword angle between him and the blade of another of his attackers, this one using a naginata. All Star kicked the naginata wielder in the gut, and he flew back with surprising force.

"Either super strength...or something else." Slade muttered as he watched All Star turn halfway and kick his captive in the small of his back, slamming him against a metal crate hard enough to dent it. "Guess I'd better find out."

All Star now had two enemies left, but one of them managed to get the drop on him and slammed his bo staff against the boy's back. All Star's spine arched a bit, and he fell to his knees; he barely brought up one arm while turning on his side in time to catch the bo staff's next blow, stopping it cold against his gauntlet. The hero twisted his upper body as his second opponent stabbed a long katana which required two hands to wield down where his head had been, he then kicked the bo staff wielder's legs out from beneath him and curled his body inwards, swinging his legs up and planting his palms flat on the ground.

Slade managed to jump down just as All Star kicked the sword wielder in the gut with both feet, but this time only made the man stumble back and bought the young hero a few moments to climb to his feet. Now the dark haired youth was on his feet, his own staff back in hand and taking up a defensive posture, seeing more League Assassins take up positions on the surrounding crates. One hand went to his belt, but a sudden gunshot split the silence of the night and sent All Star flying on his back, his body armor barely managing to save him.

Deathstroke lowered his handgun and looked to the assassins. "Do I have to do everything myself?" They took up stand by positions, weapons still at the ready but clearly leaving the now downed hero for the Enforcer of The Light to finish. "It appears so."

"NOT!" The shout was followed by a ear racking noise and several of the surrounding assassins being thrown clean off their feet. Deathstroke's single eye picked out the source in his peripheral vision, and the mercenary managed to throw himself aside and roll into a crevice between two crates just in time to dodge a second blast from the shooter.

All Star, one hand on his bruised stomach, turned over onto his front and began to climb to his feet. He saw his rescuer: a tall and well built African-American boy a few years older than him. His head was shaved clean, and he wore an all dark attire: cargo pants, military boots and a muscle shirt similar to what Superboy often wore-minus any logos of course. The boy's left eye was glowing bright red, and his right arm had opened up and unfolded into a cannon of sorts which was firing a concentrated sonic blast, knocking assassins through the air easily and allowing the newcomer to rush to All Star's aid.

With his free hand he pulled All Star to his feet. "Kal got your SOS and sent me to help. What part of recon did you not get?" The older boy demanded as he supported All Star's frame with one arm and continued to fend off the League Assassins with his sonic cannon arm.

"I didn't advertise myself! They caught me!" All Star replied, slowly getting his breath and strength back. "I got what we needed Cyborg, get us out of here!"

"I'm working on it!" Cyborg said, muttering something under his breath. "Come on charge up already..." He blasted aside two more assassins, but didn't spot a third coming his way from the side.

"Look out!" All Star broke away from Cyborg and flung another of his discus at the assassin. The weapon knocked his weapon aside and gave Cyborg the extra second needed to turn and deliver a devastating kick to the would be attacker's ribs. Then the larger teenager turned and fired past Nathan to cover him.

Slade darted out from cover, keeping low and drawing both of his katana. He shifted to the left or right to avoid Cyborg's sonic blasts, closing in on the two intruders who were managing to fight off the League Assassins left and right, covering for one another perfectly.

However All Star saw him coming and got one foot under his discarded staff, flicking the weapon up into his waiting palm. At first Slade thought that the boy intended to taze him, but instead All Star threw it at Slade while he was still thirty feet away. The mercenary easily dodged it, but as soon as it hit the ground a few feet behind him it suddenly exploded. It was small and contained however, so it only stumbled the masked mercenary and caused him to roll.

"Look out!" All Star said as Slade, having dropped his katana during his tumble, grabbed his assault rifle from off of his back and fired at them. Cyborg positioned himself between Slade and All Star, the bullets ripping through his shirt and back only to bounce off of something beneath them both. Slade was still coming at them, not even slowing down as he emptied his rifle into Cyborg's back.

Slade abandoned his rifle and leaped into the air. His feet slammed down on Cyborg's head and shoulder, yet the younger man barely budged when any other man would have been knocked clean off his feet and out cold. Instead Cyborg swung around with a furious swing, his cannon turning into a new mechanism which unleashed a blade of energy from his forearm. Slade back flipped out of its reach, feeling the stinging heat of the tip as it grazed his chin when he landed and leaned back to avoid a second swing.

Cyborg's arm returned to its cannon form, and he attempted to blast Slade at point blank range. The one eyed mercenary rolled out of the way and snatched up his assault rifle as he moved in close again. Cyborg fired a second shot, but Slade ducked under his arm snapped the butt of hsi rifle up into the hero's jaw. Cyborg's head snapped upwards a bit, but he quickly recovered and

"Wish granted!" Cyborg's arm reshaped itself into a different device, still generally in the shape of a gun, and fired it...creating a portal of twisting shapes made of light: a boom tube! "Come on!"

All Star, managed to rush through the boom tube while keeping his head down, Slade's bullets whizzing by him as he dropped and rolled before vanishing. Cyborg saw nearly a dozen armed men, members of Intergang armed with energy based weaponry closing in from different directions and quickly opened a compartment in his bicep while Slade rose to his feet and popped a fresh magazine into his weapon.

Cyborg pulled out a canister and pressed a button on the top before dropping it. He then dove through the boom tube and let it close behind him as the flash-bang grenade went off, disorienting the soldiers.

Deathstroke lowered the arm he had brought up to cover his eyes and sighed, setting his rifle back in its original position before going to retrieve his swords.

"They got away!" The Intergang squad leader growled as he got up, rubbing his eyes. "We're compromised. Get the stuff loaded back onto the ship, we're out of here!"

He found Deathstroke holding one katana to his throat a moment later, not even looking down at the hired thug as the cold metal nicked open the flesh of his lower jaw a bit. "Keep unloading what you can, then you can keep the rest." His single blue eye glared down at the squad leader when he opened his mouth to protest. "Need I remind you what my predecessor did to your last boss when he angered The Light?"

"N...no sir." The man backed down, and felt Deathstroke remove the katana from his throat. He grabbed his radio with a shaking hand and spoke into it. "Men...unload what's already being moved, keep the rest on board."

"Smart man," Deathstroke turned and walked away from the scene of the fight, pulling out his own communicator. "Deathstroke, reporting in."

"_Status?_" The voice was distorted so that the speaker could not be accurately identified-Slade had been impersonated once before without anybody realizing it, they would not take such risks again with security protocol.

"The transfer site was compromised. It was some new members of the Justice League's Young Justice division." Slade explained. "All Star and Cyborg."

"_We have their files, and will transfer all available combat data to you for future encounters. Status of the operation?_"

"I'm having them unload whatever they have already begun to move. Everything else will have to go back until we have a new safe spot to make the drop off."

"_Acceptable. We will monitor for League activity until then and warn you in advance._"

"There's something else of concern. Cyborg opened a boom tube," Slade let it sink in for a moment before continuing. "Has the League acquired New God technology?"

"_With the loss of our infiltration units in Star Labs and the League, it is possible that we have not witnessed everything these new recruits have to offer._" Slade's handler admitted. "_Continue with your mission Deathstroke, then report back. We will be dispatching a new operative to acquire what we need to re-assess the League as a threat._"

"Affirmative," Slade said before his handler disconnected.

He looked up to the stars, knowing that right now the Justice League Watch Tower was floating overhead, containing dozens of trained and seasoned heroes. "You're becoming more trouble than you're worth."

Xxx

**Justice League Watch Tower**

**3:15 am**

"Though compromised, you followed protocol and alerted us immediately." Kaldur, otherwise known as AquaLad said as he addressed both All Star and Cyborg in the Ops Center-the former was lacking his torso's body armor now. "I cannot blame you for what happened tonight, Nathan. We did not forsee the involvement of the League of Shadows. Our intel suggested that this would solely be an Intergang affair. The presence of Deathstroke is even more concerning."

"Yeah, I thought the guy was supposed to be held in some prison on the far side of the planet." Cyborg, AKA: Victor Stone said with his arms crossed, both looking perfectly normal now. His shirt however was shredded at the back, and his skin beneath had been torn away by Slade's gunfire, showing a metal plating beneath it.

"He had escaped only recently, and with assistance from the outside. As for which operative the Light had sent to do this, I am unaware." AquaLad looked to the numerous holographic screens surrounding the three of them. "There is no security footage, signs of a fight or break in, or even forensic evidence to be found besides Deathstroke's."

"So the Light has their Enforcer back," All Star, AKA: Nathaniel 'Nathan' Shepherd said. "You've beaten him before."

AquadLad looked down as if ashamed. "Only by taking him by surprise when he thought of me as an ally, and even then I required Tigress' help to neutralize him fast enough. He is by far one of the most dangerous men on Earth and indeed other worlds that you could face. I am glad that you were not badly hurt from this encounter."

"Believe me, nobody is more glad than I am." Nathan smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. He had taken off his mask after returning to the Watch Tower with Cyborg, revealing the youthful and clean shaven face of a teenager with green eyes. "Thanks for sending Victor to get me. Another thirty seconds and I'd have been dead meat."

"Anytime man," Victor smiled, and lightly punched Nathan on the shoulder. "Just try not to get your butt in another mess. I won't always be up here using the gym every time you run into a master assassin out there."

Kaldur felt a light smile cross his face at the sight of Young Justice's two newest members managing to recover from such a fight with the League of Assassins. Cyborg was almost a natural at what he did, perhaps because his cybernetics helped to suppress his fear and offered him tactical data, but Kaldur knew that even if Victor had approached them as a normal human he would have been able to join up. "You've both performed well despite the setback of Intergang being aware of our surveillance. As such, I think that it is time for us to stop hiding the surprise from you."

Both young heroes exchanged confused glances, and then looked at AquaLad. The screens around them fell, revealing the other leading members of Young Justice.

M'gann (Ms Martian), the niece of the Martian Manhunter and one of the original five members of the team. She had allowed her hair to grow out a bit again in the last year, and was standing with a tall, well built and dark haired young man with blue eyes wearing the emblem of Superman on a dark muscle shirt. Superboy, otherwise known as Connor, had been holding M'gann's hand until realizing that the 'newbies' were now able to see them and quickly adopted a more serious pose, crossing his arms. M'gann mimicked her boyfriend, folding her hands in front of her and giving the duo a smile.

The third was another dark haired boy, albeit lacking color in his skin a bit. He wore a black and red outfit with a cape, and had a domino mask covering his eyes. This was Robin II, who had risen to replace Nightwing when the previous disciple of Batman had chosen to go solo for a while.

The fourth and final spectator was a blonde woman clad in a brown and orange armored outfit. She had numerous weapons on her person, and wore a mask over her upper face. She was Tigress, formerly known as Artemis and the sixth member of the original team.

Nathan looked around, startled and even a little intimidated by their presence. A powerful Martian psychic, a half Kryptonian who could break him in two, the apprentice of Batman and the daughter of one most deadly mercenaries in the world alongside the one he had just faced...the first Robin would have claimed to been 'whelmed'.

"We've decided to expand Young Justice's ranks." AquaLad explained. "And to start, we are forming a new team, which you two shall be a part of."

Nathan grinned. "Me and Vic are on a team together? Nice!"

"We decided that you two work together best based off of how you did in training, and during that last mission." Superboy said. "You worked together under stress and managed to fend off numerous trained enemies. That's the kind of team work needed for this unit."

"We'll be providing you with several new team mates to compliment your talents and abilities." Tim said. "Tigress is tracking down the last few, but we did manage to bring one in today."

Ms Martian briefly closed her eyes, sending a telepathic message, and then a young woman stepped into the Ops Center from the shadow of the nearby Zeta Tubes.

"All Star, Cyborg, meet your new team mate: Daemon." AquaLad said. "Daemon, welcome to the Watch Tower."

Daemon was the same height as Nathan, and had long dark hair and violet eyes. She was wearing a simple light blue t shirt over a long sleeved white shirt, and blue jeans with white sneakers. All in all she looked like any ordinary girl, but when she got close enough Nathan saw a light in her eyes, like a little star of red in her pupils...

"Nice to meet you," Victor introduced himself first, holding out a hand. "Call me Victor."

Daemon looked at his hand, and then up at him before hesitantly shaking his hand. "Delilah." She sounded apprehensive of her two new team mates. "Delilah Knight."

"Nathan," Nathan said as he shook her hand next. "Why the code name 'Daemon'?"

Delilah blinked, a surprised look on her face. "You mean they really didn't tell you?"

"We kept our promise to you Delilah," AquaLad assured her. "It is for you to tell them, not us. But I encourage you not to keep secrets among your team. After all, you will be working together for quite some time."

Delilah nodded. "Alright, guess it won't do a whole lot to try and hide it from you so..." She closed her eyes and exhaled, taking a step back. When she opened her eyes they were glowing bright red, and she became consumed in a red light that lasted a single moment. When it faded, a whole new person stood where Delilah had been...

She had the same general facial and body structure, but it had been given new additions. For one her skin was deeply tanned, and her eyes were red as rubies. Her body was encased in black and wine red armor with chainmail skirts, and a set of metallic wings remained folded to her back. She crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow at how both boys were gawking at her new form. "See?" She asked, revealing sharpened canines. "Daemon. The armor's optional, but I thought it'd look better than jeans and a shirt."

She held up one hand, conjuring several red sparks of energy. "So far I can only do the basics with it though, but Zatanna and Dr Fate have been researching my condition ever since I arrived." As she spoke she reverted to her human form. "According to Dr Fate, the magical mutations done to my body are carrying templates of spells and enchantments from their source. So basically the armor and the wings are random, and I'm probably going to become a full potential sorceress like Zatanna when my magic is done manifesting."

"Wow..." Nathan only had one thought on his mind: dem hips! That daemon form gave Delilah the body of a fully developed woman, and the armor sure highlighted a few curves without showing off skin...no, bad Nathan! She's your team mate-

"Uh..." Delilah held up a handkerchief and wiped some drool from Nathan's chin. "This would be one of the primary reasons why I hope that when I fully develop my magical pathways I won't turn into a demon girl every time I cast a spell. It can be kind of...distracting to team members, if you're an example to go by."

Nathan blushed. "Duh-sorry! Sorry! I swear I was just caught off guard is all!"

Victor snickered. "Oooh, Nathan's in trouble."

Delilah chuckled lightly at the shenanigans of the two boys. "Oh...I can tell that I'm going to like working with you two already." From the amused or approving looks on the faces of the leading Young Justice members surrounding them, it was clear that they agreed. Watching these three interact reminded them of their own days of joining the team...

"Welcome to Young Justice, Echo Team." AquaLad said. "...And Nathan, work on controlling you hormones around Delilah."

"Aw come on I won't let myself get distracted like that again!" Nathan complained. "It was just _once_ people!"

The group shared a brief laugh at Nathan's expense. Once the hilarity of Nathan's predicament wore out though, AquaLad's smile faded just as quickly. "Do not be mistaken though, Echo Team. You all know the strains of fighting crime already; both that of your personal life and emotional and psychological health. The Watch Tower has always been a sanctuary to heroes, it has also become a place of healing for those deeply affected by battle, trauma and loss." Tigress closed her eyes beneath her mask, forcing back tears at this.

"I cannot promise that your careers as heroes of Earth will be smooth...it rarely ever is." AquaLad continued, setting a hand on Nathan's shoulder and another on Delilah's. "But as a team, you three and your allies may also find a family in one another as we did; and trust me when I say that such a bond is what allowed us to press on through years of hardship and danger. What is more, you will have the guidance and unconditional support of the rest of Young Justice and the Justice League."

He offered them a comforting smile. "You are not alone...never forget that."

Nathan nodded, feeling a rush of nervous anticipation from AquaLad's speech. He was going to be part of a real team of heroes! As a child he'd always looked up to the Justice League, but in the past few years he had been shown the grim reality of crime fighting. It was never all fun and games...and he was afraid that at some point he or one of his new friends would be hurt or would do something terrible, whether by intent or accident.

It frightened him...but one glance at Victor and Delilah made him veer away from the fear of what might come and focus on what was now. They were three of Earth's newest heroes, defenders against threats from alien invasions and apocalyptic disasters to the average bank robbers or hired killers.

They were Echo Team.

Xxx

Elsewhere on the Watch Tower, the Light's hastily made decision to acquire data on the newest members of Young Justice was already moving ahead of schedule.

Ever since Vandal Savage and Klarion the Witchboy's infiltration and takeover of the Justice League over a half decade ago the security had been increased tremendously. However for all of their precautions against conventional infiltration-and even the wards provided by Dr Fate and Zatanna to stop magical based intrusion the Justice League had never been prepared for The Light's newest operative.

She was standing in the center of the Data Core Chamber, a circular room lined with veins of green light all vectoring in on a ring of controls near the center. It also possessed several pods lining the walls, each containing a different humanoid shell that belonged to the Justice League member known as Red Tornado. For the most part they appeared as Caucasian males who were bald with blue eyes and an athletic physical build.

The woman was wearing a hooded cloak which hid everything about her beyond her lower face and eyes. However she was accessing the computer right now, using a pass word acquired directly from Red Tornado's memory banks and revealing that her arms were encased in a black material ending in fingerless gloves-she didn't have to worry about fingerprints.

"I'm in," She said, her slender fingers dancing across a keyboard while, next to her, the automaton Red Tornado himself was standing with his shoulders slumped, his systems inactive. "Accessing Young Justice roster."

When she found upwards of twenty five profiles, she scanned through the ones labelled with names she was unfamiliar with such as All Star or Daemon. "They've wisely not included weaknesses in the profiles, or identities...just basic information on their powers, personality and training regimes. Some of these heroes haven't been acquired yet though."

"_That will do. Acquire data on the new members and ones who have yet to be acquired. Then return to us after you have completed your task._" Unlike with Slade, the anonymous member of The Light was not speaking through a radio, but directly into this woman's mind.

The young woman slid a disc into the computer. "Downloading."

But by this point Red Tornado had twitched ever so slightly. The woman turned to him and threw aside the folds of the cloak draped around her shoulders and took up a combat ready stance.

Red Tornado's head snapped up and looked at her, causing her to immediately react as black energy boiled out from her palms.

"_Azarath metrion ZINTHOS!_"

Xxx

End of Episode One

Now...I'm not too proud of this as a first chapter. It was really just to rush out introducing the characters. Consider this to be a pilot episode, the next chapter will focus more on the characters introduced and how they begin to develop as a team.


	2. Episode Two

Young Justice Echo, Volume One

_In the aftermath of the Reach Invasion's failure, new heroes have stepped up to join the combined forces of the Justice League and Young Justice. A new team, Echo, has been formed and immediately finds themselves facing a new enemy, and a new invasion._

I do not own The Justice League, Young Justice, or any and all characters associated with either the shows, comics, etc. All are property of DC Comics.

**Young Justice Profiles Opened**

**Profile Selected: ALL STAR, E-01**

**Equipment Profile Selected**

**All Star utilizes multiple gadgets stored in numerous areas on his body. The primary locations are his utility belt, pants pockets, and on his arms.**

**His arms contain primary offensive and defensive equipment in the form of Modules. These modules can be attached and detached at will and switched around, allowing for new combinations. For example, combining his Cross Bow Module with his Tazer Module could allow for an electric charge to be carried within the bolts, or combining his Tazer and Grappler Module would allow for a longer reach and improved accuracy from the Tazer. The Kinetic Energy Cell can also be added to these combinations to increase the force and speed of these modules.**

**Aside from that All Star utilizes sports themed equipment modified to be used a non lethal weapons for most designs. More dangerous equipment is usually intended for use on armored targets, or ones that can withstand increased amounts of damage.**

Xxx

YOUNG JUSTICE, SEASON THREE, ECHO

EPISODE TWO- Raven

"_Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!_" Red Tornado's body was saturated in the same black energy emanating from the intruder's hands. Beneath the hood her violet eyes were now glowing like stars as she thrust her arms out to the side and violently tore the robotic hero's arms and legs off.

However Red had already transferred to a new body and left his own to distract her. His John Smith body sprang to life and smashed its way out through the glass casing covering it. Metal bits dug into the synthetic skin and were stopped cold by a mechanical skeleton beneath as Red rolled and slammed into the hooded woman with his shoulder, sending her sprawling as he made his way for the control console.

He slammed one hand down and managed to stop the download, but as he triggered a security alert Raven blasted a hole clean through him with a blast of concentrated energy that left the wall in front of him melting as if splashed by a powerful acid. Red collapsed as all motor functions below his waist ceased.

But he had done it: the whole Tower would know that the intruder was present and her scheme had been delayed. The best part was that the alarm would only sound in the Ops Center and not at the source of the alert, so the intruder would be none the wiser until it was too late.

Xxx

The small celebration was interrupted by a red holographic panel springing to light with a shrilling 'beep!'

"An alert!" Superboy was the first to respond and rushed to the center of the Ops Center, calling up surveillance windows into existence and focusing in on the source of the alert. "It's coming from the Data Core Chamber, Red's in trouble." He saw one of Red's bodies dismembered and another nearly blown in half while a cloaked figure floated above the defeated android, her cloak flapping about her as she lowered herself back down to the smooth floor, her heels 'clacking' as she walked around the destroyed bodies and began to resume her previous activities. "Intruder alert!"

"Contact all League and Young Justice members present in the Watch Tower and available for recall." AquaLad began to issue orders. "The intruder appears psionic or magical in nature. Ms Martian, take Echo Team to secure the entrance of the Data Core Chamber while I gather the others. Yours and Daemon's powers will be of great use there either way."

"Affirmative," Ms Martian nodded quickly and rose into the air, her blue cape swirling about her. "Echo Team, prepare for telepathic link."

A moment later each member of Echo Team swayed a bit, feeling a sense of nausea as Ms Martian linked their minds. A moment later they heard her voice in their heads. _Telepathic link established. Echo Team, follow me to the Data Core Chamber. _Ms Martian briefly paused and looked back at SuperBoy, who had stopped in the midst of following AquaLad and the others out the far side of the Ops Center. After a moment they both exchanged a nod, having obviously exchanged words telepathically and took off in separate directions.

Nathan, despite lacking his torso armor and being exhausted from the previous fight against Slade and the League of Assassins strapped his mask into place and followed Ms Martian alongside Cyborg and Daemon. The magical member of Echo had gone back to her 'Demon Form' and was now flying, her razor sharp wings spread out as she took advantage of the WatchTower's open corridors that accommodated more than a few winged heroes over the years.

_Alright, we're only supposed to secure the doors but I'll give you my contingency in case the intruder tries to escape. Daemon, you and I will cover Cyborg and All Star from above. All Star, you have a bow in your arsenal, right?_

All Star nodded and reached for his gauntlet opposite of the one containing the tazer module. A crossbow unfolded from it. "Yeah-I mean..."

_Yeah, do you have a target? _He glanced up at her while loading one of his five bolts into it. _I've got five clean shots, but none of these arrows can explode or do anything fancy, they're meant to act as a long range version of my grappling hook above all else._

Ms Martian nodded. _I'll telepathically guide you to the target, and then you will fire on my command. _

They all stopped before the doors to the Data Core Chamber. The looming metal security doors were at the end of a hallway that was dimly lit save for the blue tinged jagged veins of light running along the walls and floor.

_Data Core Chamber entrance secured, Echo Team holding position. _Ms Martian broadcast her thoughts to the nearby Young Justice and League Members.

Cyborg finally tried his hand at speaking telepathically, finding that it came naturally since he literally just had to think of what to say and direct it towards his team mates. _Ms Martian, I'm picking up a build up of pressure behind the door!_

"Everybody back!" All Star shouted out loud while diving to one side with Cyborg.

The doors flew clean out of their frame, Ms Martian phasing through one while the other slammed into Daemon and crushed her against a wall.

"De-Daemon!" All Star looked to the large metal door that hid his team mate's body, almost accidently using her real name.

_All Star! _Ms Martian shouted as the smoke cleared to show the silhouette of the intruder advancing out of the room. _Acquire target!_

All Star felt his body turn and his cross bow arm rise up, levelling at the intruder. He was allowing Ms Martian partial telepathic control of his body, as neutralizing the woman who had taken out Red Tornado would make it easier to help Daemon-if she had survived.

He felt his arm adjust ever so slightly, and then fire.

The cloaked woman was caught off guard when an arrow flew through the smoke and struck the data card she was holding. Ms Martian had projected her vision into the Data Core Chamber after the team had reached the doors, and saw the hooded intruder finish her download. At first she had been planning to have All Star aim for the gravity control panel inside the chamber to trigger a massive increase in gravity pull within it-something that Cyborg's enhanced body would have been able to withstand long enough to retrieve Red.

She had changed targets upon seeing the intent behind the infiltration.

The card shattered in the hooded woman's hands. She gasped and then glared towards the three heroes facing her. "That was a big mistake." She threw aside the folds of her cloak, revealing that she wore knee high dark blue combat boots, dark grey leggings and a black leotard. Her cloak was held up by a ruby brooch around her neck, and a red gem glowed from beneath her hood.

Tendrils of black energy reached out from her hands, digging into the floor and ripping it apart, causing shards of metal to rise like a tidal wave of razor sharp fragments that began to bear down on the three heroes.

Cyborg however took up position in front of All Star and turned his back to the tide. His back opened up, metal plates shifting beneath the shredded synthetic skin and tearing apart what was left of his muscle shirt. It projected a blue energy shield that divided the wave of lethal metal shards and left the two untouched by the time it was done. Ms Martian simply phase through it and flew at the sorceress.

"_Azarath Metrion Zinthos!_" The Sorceress clapped her hands together and shot a wave of the same black energy at Ms Martian. She nimbly dodged it without stopping in her charge, but when she tried to dodge the second blast by phasing through it she found her phase shifting to be useless, as the blast struck her in the face and sent her careening into the door at the opposite end of the corridor where the team had entered from.

"Cyborg, get Red out of here! I'll stall her!" All Star hollered while loading his second bolt, this time adding a line to it and firing. The arrow whizzed right past the Sorceress and into the ceiling of the room where the head dug through the thin metal plating and then deployed hooks to keep it in place as the wire began to retract, flinging All Star into the air. The young hero's grappling module was hooked up to his partially charged Kinetic Energy Cell, which began to increase the speed and power of the reel...

And he slammed into the hooded woman as she began to prepare another spell. He kicked her in the ribs and slapped his free hand down onto his arm mounted cross bow/grappler. The thirty meter long micro-filament's storage compartment snapped free of his arm and let All Star fall, rolling as he landed and facing the hooded woman.

Suddenly the doors which had been blasted free of their frame a minute earlier began to glow red before something burst out in a shower of molten metal. The sorceress formed a dome shield over herself while All Star expanded his own arm mounted shield, curling into a ball as much as he could as a globule flew his way. His shield began to heat up as it took the punishment for him, and he quickly grasped at his arm and disconnected the shield module from it.

The shield was deformed into a molten pile of metal by the time he stood up and looked to Daemon, who had launched herself through the door and punched the hooded sorceress' shield, shattering it and sending the intruder flying back. Daemon landed in a crouch and folded her metallic wings to her back. "Glad to see I didn't miss everything."

Cyborg had used this distraction to make his way into the Data Core Chamber and examined Red Tornado's body. "Okay...this one's active, but damaged." He picked up the John Smith body. "Sorry Red, I'll get you fixed up later on." He cradled the dismantled body, now reduced to its torso, head and right arm and rushed back out in time to see Daemon use her wings as a shield against a concentrated blast thicker than a telephone pole.

"That. Is. ENOUGH!" The Sorceress snarled as she lashed out with a wave of pure force in all directions, sending All Star sprawling and making Cyborg slide back, his feet deforming the metal grating beneath his feet and making some panels snap up out of their positions. Daemon on the other hand was unmoved and snarled defiantly back at the hooded woman.

"You have interfered with my mission," The hooded woman spread her arms out...and behind her a large avian silhouette began to form from the energy she so easily manipulated. "**BIG MISTAKE!**"

Daemon gasped as she saw the woman's eyes under her hood...they had become four bright red eyes now.

A moment later the newly initiated heroine was slammed by the giant raven and knocked to her feet as the animated construct rampaged about the corridor. Cyborg nimbly rolled backwards over one shoulder and flipped to his feet while All Star barely threw himself out of the way in time.

"We need a plan here, preferably before her pet bird rips us apart!" Daemon was attempting to hold the construct back with a barrier of red energy that was slowly cracking under the raven's talons.

All Star looked between his team mates, and once down the hall to where he had last seen Ms Martian. Two veteran heroes down, the strongest member of Echo barely holding her own and he and Cyborg were practically helpless! If they had a disruption collar they could neutralize the girl's magic, but they were at least three levels away and locked securely in a vault which only League Members and Senior Young Justice Members could access. If they didn't get help soon they'd be toast!

"Echo Team, listen up!" All Star barked. "Daemon, I'll run interference for you. Hit the target with everything you've got! Cyborg, I need you to get me up high!" He was running towards the larger teenager, who nodded and cupped his hands. As soon as All Star set one foot on them Cyborg flung him into the air and over the flailing raven of dark power.

He landed behind the raven, which turned away from Daemon and followed the new threat as All Star charged straight for the one controlling it. He loaded another bolt into his crossbow while removing his tazer module and applying it to the same arm as his crossbow. The result: electrified bolts.

He fired, and the sorceress performed a spin in mid air, her cloak enveloping the bolt. A moment later she faced him and snapped her arms out sideways, the cloak opening to reveal a void where her body should have been, and the electrified bolt shot out at All Star. While running he twisted his whole body to the side and managed to avoid it, his hair standing up a bit as it passed within an inch of his face. Then he continued onward and switched to a pair of his discus shuriken. "Cyborg: cover fire! Daemon: engage the target! We'll cover for you!"

"You got it!" Cyborg said before his shoulders and back opened up to reveal launchers, which fired a salvo of eight missiles into the air which curved and began to arc down towards the sorceress. She easily created another barrier that caught them and blasted All Star out of the air in mid leap, but failed to notice his discus due to Daemon dive bombing her, metal wings folded to her armored body and her face an expression of rage.

The discus sank into the cloaked woman's shoulder, and she gasped before Daemon spun in mid flight and kicked the woman in the chest, launching her back. She crashed into the wall next to the Data Core Chamber doorframe. As Daemon swung down for another hit the intruder performed a surprisingly agile evasion, twisting her whole body as she leaped into the air and landed a few feet away. Her raven had paused in the middle of its rampage, allowing Cyborg to continue dragging Red Tornado's body to a safe distance before running to assist his team.

Daemon folded her wings and went after the hooded woman, striking out with some basic martial arts moves she had learned in her training sessions with heroes such as Black Canary. The sorceress had no trouble blocking them and retaliated with a back handed blow that spun Delilah around before she stabilized herself and went in for another attack; however it was clear that this intruder was the superior hand to hand fighter, and Daemon would need help to take her on in either the field of magic or hand to hand fighting.

Cyborg rushed in first and slid along the floor, thrusting one leg out to knock the target's legs out from under her. But she performed a handless back flip and easily dodged before landing and spinning out of the way of Cyborg's sonic cannon. "She's fast!"

"Noted!" All Star was waiting for the target as she dodged Cyborg's sonic cannon, and extended his bo staff to engage. However she simply moved her hand in a chopping motion, and a thin blade of black energy as thin as paper sliced through the metal weapon and into All Star's unprotected chest. He yelped and backed up as she tried to repeat this maneuver, the barely visible line tracing the movements of her limbs as she launched a barrage of kicks and chops.

All Star bent his legs and launched himself back, releasing a burst of energy to propel him nearly twenty feet away from her. Echo Team was now regrouped and facing down this mysterious intruder who had managed to defeat a Senior YJ member and keep them on the ropes. By now her raven construct was in motion again, standing behind her like a silent guardian and preparing to dive at them again.

"**Time to die,**" The woman hissed, pointing one hand at them as if labelling them with a bull's eye for her construct. It spread its wings out, cutting clean into the walls as it flew towards them.

"Daemon! Can your magic fight it off?!" All Star shouted.

"Not for long, so think fast!" Daemon spread her wings and ascended before thrusting her arms forward, palms out. She blasted the raven with a beam of red energy thicker than a telephone pole, making it slow to a crawl as it shrieked and writhed, clawing almost desperately to get at them.

"I'll see if I can get a beat on her with my missiles!" Cyborg knelt and leaned forward so that his missile launchers were aiming directly upwards. "And...got her!" He fired a second barrage that arched over the raven and towards the sorceress, who seemed to be preoccupied with controlling the construct. She still saw them coming and moved aside, causing the raven to lose momentum and be forced back several feet by Daemon's concentrated beam of energy.

"We're wearing her down," Cyborg reported. "She now needs full concentration to manipulate that thing."

"So we hit her hard and from a distance then!" All Star knelt and removed his folded crossbow module, placing it on the same arm as his Kinetic Energy Cell to once again modify the function and effect of his bolts. He loaded his fourth into the crossbow and raised it. "FIRE!"

He and Cyborg launched a combined far range assault on the sorceress, who desperately raised one hand and created a barrier as a high velocity bolt and a sonic blast nearly took her out of commission. As the smoke cleared she fell to one knee, holding up one hand to maintain the barrier and the other to her head.

"Keep firing, we almost have her!" All Star urged. "Daemon, how are you holding up?"

"Can't...hold...uh." Daemon fell back to the ground, onto her knees and stopped blasting away, her arms falling limply to her sides as she gasped for breath. The raven reared up, no longer impeded by the magical resistance, and prepared to attack as the sorceress rose to her feet, gasping for breath.

"Where's the Justice League when you need them?" Cyborg asked, his cannon levelled at the raven and its mistress.

_Echo, retreat now!_

The telepathic uplink had been restored!

"There's my answer," Cyborg nodded. "Retreat!"

All Star, Cyborg and Daemon saw a golden light at the end of the hall that they had entered from, and quickly rushed towards it. Behind them the raven shaped construct shrieked and spread its wings as it tore after them, engulfing the corridor behind them.

A golden orb of light whizzed past the team, and became an immense cross of golden light. The raven slammed into it and exploded, rebounding upon its caster and knocking her to her knees.

All Star looked up as a blue clad man wearing a golden cape and helmet floated past him and his team. "_**You are not welcome here, Spawn of Trigon!**_" The legendary sorcerer, Dr Fate thrust his arms out and clapped his hands together. "_**Fate commands you! BEGONE!**_"

The Sorceress hissed, her eyes glowing bright red as her own energies clashed with Dr Fate's. "**Fate is on my side, Doctor.**" She said, lowering her voice back to room volume. "**It is not The Light you need fear now...it is something much worse.**"

The floor beneath her became a black pit that she sank into. "And when it comes, you'll be begging for The Light to seize power."

Finally she and her foul magical construct were gone. Dr Fate set down where she had been and turned to the members of Echo Team. "_**The threat has passed.**_"

"Is...everybody alright?" They turned to see M'gann being carried by Superboy. She looked to be injured, or at least dazed from the impact she had made against the entry doors, but she still was more concerned for her charges. But what drew the attention of the three new heroes was the fact that the entirety of the Justice League and Young Justice were pouring through the doors. Even heroes who had been on Earth were present from the blazing blue and red Superman to the silver Captain Atom and the dark and intimidating 'God Damn' Batman.

"Yes, we're alright." All Star nodded. "It's a good thing you all showed up when you did."

"It's a good thing I didn't send Ms Martian alone," AquaLad stepped out of the crowd. "I wish that your first day as a team did not start so...abruptly, but you once again performed admirably. You managed to prevent further data theft and protect Red Tornado." He looked to the dismantled hero. "Still...I have never seen magic of the sort used by that woman."

"_**The magic is of a dark origin, wielded by a bloodline from a world beyond this.**_" Dr Fate boomed, his voice catching the attention of all in the room as it always did. "_**The Bloodline of Trigon: a demon born of an unholy birth in the world of Azarath. By birth he slaughtered his own mother, by childhood he destroyed an entire planet, and by adulthood he ruled most of his own universe. He now seeks other worlds...and that woman was one of his spawn, created in a union with a mortal. She goes by the name of Raven, and is a sorceress who exceeds even Wotan and almost equals Klarion the Lord of Chaos.**_"

"She did not claim allegiance to anybody called Trigon though. She said that we would beg for The Light to take over when something else came," All Star said, all eyes suddenly on him. He squirmed under the combined gaze of two generations of heroes. "So-so I just mean that maybe-"

"Echo Team," Batman cut him off. "Report to Ops Center for debriefing. AquaLad and Dr Fate: meet us there. We have much to discuss."

All Star swallowed while Daemon turned back into Delilah Knight, who looked to be just as intimidated as Nathan and Victor were. They were about to be debriefed by the Dark Knight himself...

One would pardon them if any wet themselves.

But in the back of All Star's mind he was more concerned for what Raven had spoken of...

What was coming that would make the Light more preferable?

What was there for the combined forces of the Justice League and Young Justice to fear?

Xxx

**Ops Center - Justice League Watch Tower**

**4: 08 AM EST, April 3****rd****, 2017**

"And after Dr Fate showed up, the hostile retreated through a portal and vanished." Victor finished reciting the events of the previous fight to Batman.

Rather than just Batman, Dr Fate and AquaLad most of the League and Young Justice were gathered in the Ops Center, most of them arranged in lines on either side.

"Dude, nice one newbies!" Bart Allen, otherwise known as Kid Flash called out. "First try as a team and you ace it!"

Blue Beetle put a hand on his friend's shoulder and calmly advised him to remain silent when Batman sent his signature glare their way before looking to the assembled team.

"You performed well under pressure, as AquaLad said. As for this Raven, we will contact every occult source of information available to us," Batman said. "In the meantime Echo Team is now cleared for active duty. However assignments will be limited until your roster has been filled."

"Who's missing?" Delilah asked. "I mean three usually makes a good team."

"You have three other team members," Batman replied, not reacting to Delilah's statement/complaint. "For now you will turn in and report back at noon tomorrow. I already have an assignment in mind for you, given the fact that Echo is operating at 50 percent capacity."

"Finally, bed!" Nathan groaned. "No offense to anybody who's used to it but I've been up since 7 AM of April Fools Day."

"Same," Delilah nodded. "Training mission with Zatanna before they brought me up here."

"I just have to recharge my power cells," Victor shrugged. "I'll see you guys when you get back up here."

"I'm not going back down big guy," Delilah walked next to him. "Dad is the reason I have my powers, home is not the best place for me to go...ever. I live up here."

This surprised both All Star and Cyborg.

"What about you Nathan?" Delilah looked at the former. "Orphanage? Apartment?"

Two story house with a regular cleaner, two parents and plenty of food; but he felt ashamed of the idea of telling them. It would be like rubbing it in their faces that his family was wealthy and lovable...

"Classified," He knew they'd find out sooner or later. They already knew his first name and saw his face...just a matter of time before they saw his father's face in the news, saw that he was the head of a company producing Sports Equipment and put two and two together. Still...he just didn't feel comfortable telling them that while they had to stay on the Watch Tower he'd be going home to a comfy house where his mother was probably worried sick and staying up waiting for him after hearing police reports about his being sighted in the harbor where gunshots were heard.

"Alright man, we all got secrets. You've got a right to keep yours." Victor said, finding Nathan's sudden and abrupt change from smiling and his usual light hearted attitude to the stance and personality he had taken during the last two fights they had been in together. It was especially odd that he was taking this attitude towards his own team. Luckily only he and Delilah had been close enough to notice this, as the other heroes had begun to converse amongst themselves, Dr Fate's powerful voice drawing the most attention as he spoke to Batman and Superman regarding Raven and her father Trigon.

"Thanks," Nathan released a breath. "I'll be back in six hours or so, see if we can talk, hang out for a bit before our next mission." He offered them a smile to let them know that he was not upset over Delilah's question. "See you guys then."

"See yah," Delilah shrugged.

"See you around Nate," Victor clasped hands with Nate once, and then let the younger hero walk towards the Zeta Tubes.

Nathan paused long enough to speak with Batman, who cleared him to depart the Watch Tower.

"_Recognized: All-Star, E01,_" Nathan vanished in a flash of golden light within the Zeta Tube.

Xxx

Nathan reappeared in the Downtown Gotham Zeta Tube outpost. He exhaled and took off his mask, beginning to change out of his All Star costume and into his civilian attire.

Nathan Shepherd soon exited the hidden Zeta Tube and called for a taxi to pick him up. "Mom's gonna kill me for coming home so early." He muttered while checking his watch. "...guess I should be glad to be coming back at all after what just happened."

Xxx

"Batman, we've salvaged additional security footage from Echo Team's confrontation with Hostile Designate: Raven." Black Canary informed the Caped Crusader as they stood in the center of the Ops Center within the circle of holographic screens facing inward. Other heroes watched and listened intently as she showed footage from within the Data Core Chamber. "I found this after I store the combat footage from the fight out in the corridor. See for yourself..."

The cameras in the Data Core Chamber had been destroyed, but Red Tornado's bodies were constantly recording things even in stand by mode. Between three of them they managed to catch a perfect recording of what was happening...

A Boom Tube was opening up within the chamber while Echo Team was fighting Raven's magical construct. With it blocking most of the hallway they hadn't managed to see the chamber itself until All Star and Cyborg had moved to the sides to fire under its wings at Raven, but by then the portal had faded and deposited a single person into the room...

"Looks like Deathstroke wanted to make up for letting us get away at the docks back in Gotham." Cyborg scowled as he watched the masked assassin quickly access the computer and insert a cable extending from under his armor into a slot on the panel. After a few moments he disconnected it and formed a second boom tube as Dr Fate and Raven clashed, once again distracting all attention to them as Slade Wilson made his escape.

"...they got the data." Batman growled. "What files did he access?"

"_The same ones that Raven attempted to escape with,_" Red Tornado, in a fresh new and undamaged body stepped into the Ops Center with the Atom by his side, having quickly downloaded Red into a third body after reactivating his second to salvage his personality and memories. "_Profiles on Echo Team, which up until this morning was the only team of heroes with know public profiles or combat data that The Light could take advantage of._"

"Their identities haven't been compromised though. We keep civilian identities off of League and Young Justice Profiles for obvious reasons." Batman informed the room. "Still, Echo Team's future members may be at risk."

"We should bring them here immediately," Superman spoke up. "If we don't hurry, The Light could dispatch assassins or abduct them."

"Agreed," Batman pushed aside the folds of his cape and began to manipulate the holographic screens until three profiles were brought up. "All three Echo members have been relocated to Gotham in their civilian identities, living together in an apartment. Nightwing and Red Arrow are in Gotham, I'll ask them to stop by and keep an eye on them."

"What's Roy doing in Gotham?" Oliver Queen, AKA: The Green Arrow asked.

"...Arsenal." Batman replied.

"The real Roy too?"

"He accepted a contract for the capture of Calendar Man..." Batman sighed. "I just barely stopped him from killing him. Red Arrow agreed to come to Gotham to talk him into leaving, and Nightwing is there on leave from college in Bludhaven."

"I should go too then," Oliver insisted. "Roy was my pupil, my responsibility."

Black Canary stepped out of the inner circle and placed one hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "Ollie, if you do you could aggravate the situation. Arsenal is more comfortable around Red Arrow, they have a sort of brotherly bond. I think that he can handle this himself."

Her words reached Green Arrow, who sighed and nodded. "Alright...I'll leave it to Red, but someday Roy and I have to have a long talk about his career choice."

Meanwhile something far out in the void was staring back at the Watch Tower and the world it stood guard over.

Xxx

It was studying the members of Young Justice, both the initiated veterans and the newly introduced aspiring heroes. So far it was impressed by some, and found others lacking...

But now it had a task to complete, and a time limit set.

"_**Children...are the greatest defenders of Earth by this time?**_" It rumbled, its voice breaching the oxygen deprived void of outer space. "_**No matter...the time has come. My judgement is made.**_" It unfolded its legs and held its long spear by its side as its body began to light up from billions of dots of light within it and the weapon it held. They were like countless little stars all surging back into existence. And when its eyes opened up they were like suns.

"_**Earth has advanced to the point where it is now lush and rich.**_" Its words were sent across time and space to another receiver. "_**Now is the time to act...now Earth shall be harvested so that a kingdom far greater may endure.**_" The being began to fly towards the little blue planet, moving with speeds that would leave the Green Lantern Corps's fastest flyer envious. "_**Let the hunt of its champions begin!**_"

Xxx

End of Episode 2


	3. Episode Three

Young Justice Echo, Volume One

_In the aftermath of the Reach Invasion's failure, new heroes have stepped up to join the combined forces of the Justice League and Young Justice. A new team, Echo, has been formed and immediately finds themselves facing a new enemy, and a new invasion._

I do not own The Justice League, Young Justice, or any and all characters associated with either the shows, comics, etc. All are property of DC Comics.

Xxx

YOUNG JUSTICE, SEASON THREE, ECHO

EPISODE THREE- Terror

**4:46 AM, EST, April 3****rd****, 1017**

**Gotham City**

**Residence of Nathaniel Shepherd**

Nathan unlocked the front door of his house and peeked in slowly, taking in the dim foyer which had a single light left on-likely for his return. He stepped inside and quietly shut the door behind him, shuffling his shoes off to the side and tip toeing towards the stairs...

"Sweety!" A set of arms enveloped him from behind, and Nathan was almost tugged clean off his feet and nearly reacted with his combat training before realizing it was just his mother. He relaxed and smiled, turning around to hug his mom back. "I heard about what happened at the docks and got worried! Jesus Nate I thought you were shot!"

"I-I know mom," Nathan nodded. "But I'm fine, I really am."

It took several minutes to calm her down, but eventually Maria Shepherd was convinced that her son was not harmed. She had been against his decision to begin using his powers for super hero activities and had been tempted to go to the press to tell the world that the League had tried to recruit her little boy into their insane war on crime. But Nathan had managed to calm her down enough to make her see sense: blabbing about his invitation to Young Justice would still serve to put the family in danger along with their friends and neighbors.

Ashamed of herself, Maria had surrendered once she saw how determined her son was to take up the calling of a hero.

"You must be dead on your feet," Maria said, seeing the bags under his eyes. "You can sleep in today, sweety."

Nathan smiled at the kind offer. "Thanks mom, but I'm going to be heading back up around ten. I'd better get all the sleep I can now."

Maria sighed. "I'm worried that you'll run yourself into the ground with this hero business Nathan...please promise me that you'll get more rest from now on." She gave him her best puppy eyed look...

And damn it for a woman in her late thirties Maria Shepherd still pulled off a pouty puppy eyed look that few teenagers could ever challenge.

"Alright, alright!" Nathan couldn't help but release a bit of a giggle as he held his arms out defensively. "You win mom! Alright...mom, I promise that I'll get rest whenever I have the chance, as much as possible, priority two next to stopping crime and saving the day."

"That's all I want," Maria relaxed. "I'll get you something ready for when you go back tomorrow-oh wait...should I be doing that?" She wondered aloud, one hand on her head. "I mean with all the secrecy, should I be making you lunches?"

"Aw mom you know I can't make a decent BLT like you can." Nathan chuckled. "Besides, your cooking beats the heck out the food synthesizers on the Watch Tower...and the attempts by about half a dozen heroes who should be given a federal court order to not go within a certain distance of ovens or microwaves...and oddly salads." He recalled how Bart Allen had somehow made a salad explode...

Don't even bother to wonder how he did it.

"Aw alright you," Maria hugged Nathan one more time. "Now off to bed with you Nathan-I mean All Star," she rubbed his head. "It'll be another long day of superheroing."

Aw man that's almost like calling a soldier an 'army guy'! Certainly is almost as bad as that. Still, Nathan kept his smile and nodded. "Thanks mom...oh and mom? I...made a couple friends up there today."

"You did? Tell me about them!" Maria urged her son while padding into the kitchen to prepare him a lunch for tomorrow. "Wait, no, bed mister! Bed time, then stories."

As Nathan walked upstairs he grumbled under his breath. "One of these days I'm gonna figure out how you make those BLTs so good, and when that happens never again will All Star ask his mother to make lunch for him!" He wrung his hands in that cliché 'scheming' way that old villains on TV shows-and indeed some very pathetic real villains used to do. "Mwa. Ha. Ha."

"Careful Evil Overlord All Star, she might hear you." A male voice made Nathan turn to see his father, Charles Shepherd standing at the door of his and Maria's bedroom. "Welcome back son." He managed to smile, rubbing one of his eyes. "On the bright side to you being out so much, the internet bill has never been lower."

"Helps that the Watch Tower has its own wifi...or something about a century ahead of it." Nathan smiled sheepishly. "The gear worked out perfectly dad, and now I'm on a team of my own."

"That's great!" Charles nodded, having shaken off his half sleeping drowsiness. "Any of them happen to be a cute girl in a skin tight outfit?"

Nate blushed and babbled. "Dad! Seriously? Now you're plotting to get me hooked up with a superheroine?"

Charles chuckled and walked towards his son. "What? Of course not! Don't be silly Nate, I'm just watching from the sidelines as the little boy who I drove to soccer practice grows up into a man," He then rubbed Nate's head. "A man who hangs out with numerous girls his age wearing skin tight and/or revealing outfits and are generally in crazy good shape."

Nathan scoffed and shoved his father's hand away from his already messy mop of a haircut. "Oh yeah dad, I'm going to fall in love with and marry another hero. We're going to have a wedding where Superman is our preacher and Batman plays my wife down the aisle. I'd let you hold her hand but her power is to cause people with high hormonal levels like perverts combust into flames on contact."

...

They both burst out laughing.

"Good night son!" Charles turned away and shuffled back to his room, still laughing while Nathan nodded and turned towards his own door.

"Night dad," He yawned and stepped through into his dimly lit bedroom. It had plenty of posters and stacks of comics about heroes, both fictional or otherwise. He felt like getting rid of a lot of them now, feeling that they were childish, but Batman had cautioned him that suddenly changing his outward attitude in public right when a new hero in the general area was revealed he might eventually be put under suspicion...especially if he kept vanishing to don his hero guise.

Being a teenager in high school, Nathan couldn't keep running off every time a super villain attacked or a bank robbery occurred just downtown. He had to let the League and active YJ members handle it if he wasn't on duty. However if a villain showed up and was in his sights...one could excuse him vanishing and All Star making an appearance.

The point was that Nathan was known as that regular but pleasant looking guy who supported super heroes, and so he would have to stay that way or at least slowly work his way out of it over the years.

But rather than think of the years to come, Nathan began to change and think about that nice soft bed that was beckoning him. He crawled under the blankets and lied on his back. "...Day One on the Team Nate...good job." He yawned and shut his eyes, drifting off to sleep...

Xxx

**Unknown Location/Time**

**Location Code Named 'Temple of the Light'**

"We have received the data on Echo Team, Deathstroke." Ra's Al Ghul announced, his face projected on a large screen-one of several built into the walls of the circular room. "You have proven that you are still a reliable and capable enforcer."

Deathstroke's reaction could not be detected through his mask, and his body was currently still as a statue as he stared back at the Master of the League of Assassins. After several moments of silence another member of The Light's council: Queen Bee, took this chance to speak. "And you Raven, while you failed to acquire the data, your confrontation with the heroes All Star, Cyborg and Daemon provided Deathstroke with his opportunity. You have not been forgotten nor discarded by this council."

"But we will not always accept failure." The largest and most intimidating of the Council, Vandal Savage, said as he stared down at the two Enforcers: Deathstroke and Raven. The former crossed his arms while the latter simply raised her veiled head enough for her eyes to be seen. "You both have been given your promised payment despite these previous faults in your methods. We now have a new assignment for you, provided by our newest addition to the council..."

A previously darkened screen flashed on, revealing a humanoid creature made of stone. Its eyes were red and its mouth was curled into an amused smile as if the sight of Deathstroke and Raven was funny to it.

"Lord Darkseid, Ruler of Apokalips."

"Greetings mortals," The immortal ruler of Apokalips said. "Before we begin let me assure you that what I have in mind for you both is of great importance. But first we must test my latest gift to the Light. I have the perfect target in mind, but it will fall to a more appropriate operative to test this product."

"And we have the perfect operative in mind." Lex Luthor nodded. "...Get me Thomas and Tuppence Terror."

Xxx

**Gotham City, Gotham Academy**

**9:48 AM EST, April 3****rd****, 2017**

The city of Gotham was recovering from winter and beginning to limp towards spring, but Jack Frost definitely would not be beaten back so easily. It was still chilly out, and the melting snow created puddles of mud everywhere.

"All Star, online." Nathan whispered as he held up what looked like a cell phone, but was really a heavily encrypted communicator. "I'm at the academy. Care to tell me where it is now?"

"_Zeta Tube Gotham 06 is located on the opposite side of Academy Drive, directly across from the main entrance._" Red Tornado, in his new, improved and repaired main body answered. "_Batman has left me with your orders: activate the Zeta Tube and remain on standby until your team has joined you._"

"Alright, I'll get on it." Nathan hung up and took a moment to stretch and then take a sip from the coffee he had made before leaving his house. With barely five hours of sleep even the bitter drink his father drank every day and night was appealing to the young hero. It certainly woke him up, but he swore that one day he would find a way to balance his superhero lifestyle with sleep.

After crossing the street and cursing as he stepped in a puddle that soaked through his shoes and socks Nathan found himself entering an alley. At the very end he found a brick wall...but a dumpster filled with trash that gave out no scent. He smirked and pressed on through the wall, sinking through it like it was made of water and stepping out into the real end of the alley-which was much cleaner on account of not having any trash spilled on it in...ever. A warmth in his coat pocket alerted him to another gift left to him and the members of Echo by the League: a charm from Zatanna.

It was designed to allow them to see through illusions, and to resist charms that would act to make them forget certain things such as finding a fake wall at the end of an alley. This way anybody who wandered into the alley would find the wall only to forget about it moments later and wander back out thinking they had found just a boring old brick wall and a stinky dumpster. In addition to this illusion the Zeta Tube also had a metal security door that revealed itself once Nathan found the access panel and placed his hand against it.

"_Recognized: All Star, E01._" The door hissed open, and the lights within the safe house flickered on. Nathan stepped into what could have passed for the interior of one of the League's lounges living quarters on the Watch Tower.

The outpost was divided into three sections: The entrance, the Operations/Zeta Tube/Equipment Lockers, and the recreational area that included a kitchen, living room, and bunk beds. The Zeta Tube and Ops Center shared the left side of the room from where Nathan stood, separated from the Rec Area by a pane of glass.

"Swank," Nathan walked over to the Ops Center. "Alright...initiate power up...here!" He found the mater control panel and placed his hand on the handprint shape in the center of the screen. It glowed green, and holographic screens popped up and floated in front of him. "Perfect. Gotham 06 to Watch Tower, we are online. Begin transfer of E02 and E03 to Gotham 06 Site."

"_Rodger 06, E02 and E03 are inbound._" Batman replied before the Zeta Tube flashed to life, bathing the interior of the outpost in golden light as two silhouettes stepped through.

"_Recognized: Cyborg, E02. Recognized: Daemon, E03._" The computerized female voice that Nathan had heard so many times in the past few weeks announced.

"Whoaaaa!" Cyborg looked around. "Oh man, this is gonna be our outpost!? You're kiddin' me!"

"Kinda...small...and lacking in privacy." Delilah noted as she examined the rec area.

Nathan rushed out from around the Ops Center and exchanged a high five with Victor as they vaulted over the couch together. "Hey, it's better than what I thought it would be like. We have a place to meet up at anytime, free electricity, free water..." Nathan turned on the TV. "And free cable!"

Delilah sighed and crossed her arms, but flopped down on the couch next to Nathan and crossed one leg over the other anyways. "Glad to see you two have your eyes on the ball. And Nathan, you look like hell; get some sleep."

Nathan shook his head, "No can do, Dee." He shut off the TV. "Red mentioned that Bats would contact us for a brief assignment soon."

"Aw man!" Victor crossed his arms. "Well, guess we'd better report in."

No sooner than he spoke, the Zeta Tube lit up once more. "_Recognized: Superboy, B04._"

"Superboy?!" Nathan scrambled to his feet along with his two companions and rushed for the glass pane separating the Rec area from the Ops Center and Zeta Tube. Superboy stepped out, but was dressed differently from before...

"Well, can't make any tights jokes," Delilah said, a smile crossing her face as she admired the form of the Kryptonian clone, who was wearing a dark blue suit with black gloves that had red lines on the fingers and forearms, and black boots similar to the military issue ones that he wore. The suit, while form fitting, was definitely too thick to be tights...it looked more like organic armor of sorts. "Damn, Ms Martian is lucky..."

"Echo Team," SuperBoy greeted them, his voice serious yet light rather than a commanding bark. "Report." He nodded through the glass, and they all rushed around to the Zeta/Ops area where they assembled before him. "We have a problem: despite you managing to stop Raven from hijacking critical data earlier this morning, a second successful theft was executed by Deathstroke during your fight."

"Deathstroke? Aw man that guy is a serious pain in my-" Nathan shook his head. "What did he get?"

"Nothing too damaging: just non classified data on your other three team members and yourselves. No identities, familial relations, or weaknesses." Superboy promised them as he crossed his arms. "But the Light is now aware that Echoes 4, 5 and 6 are located in Gotham. And...thirty minutes ago, Tommy and Tuppence Terror were spotted by an aerial patrol drone, heading for Gotham Academy."

The three new members of Young Justice had heard plenty about the Terror Twins. They were super strong, supposedly able to take on Superman and give as good as they got. Tommy Terror had especially grown in the last six years alone, and it was no secret that Superboy had a run-in with him a year ago before the destruction of Mount Justice.

"Why the Academy?" Nathan asked. "Could they know about this outpost?"

Superboy shook his head. "Not likely. The Academy is the most valuable target in this area for one reason: the rest of Echo Team is in attendance there, in their civilian identities."

"Wait a second," Delilah raised one eyebrow. "The League put three members of the team under the same roof?"

"Most of the younger team members attend Gotham Academy so that Batman or another hero on watch duty can keep track of them and call on them in a moment's notice." Superboy explained. "We believe that the Light intend to draw out your three team members by staging an attack on the Academy. Because of the Terror Twins being the ones in charge of this raid I was sent to assist you."

"Why not send a whole squad?" Victor asked. "These two might be B-List villains, but they're not amateurs either."

Superboy did not change his neutral expression. "...as of fifty minutes ago, numerous heroes both associated with the League and alone have been engaged across North and South America. Each encounter is small, but the League and Young Justice are being spread thin because of them. I was sent here because when I don't have a collar on me Tommy and Tuppence Terror don't get to have as much fun hurting innocents." He recalled from security footage that the Terror Twins had quite a ride of hurting the other Young Justice members captured at Mount Justice before its destruction...and during their transfer to Reach custody they hadn't been gentle. It hurt more that two of the abducted members had been the youngest members: Beast Boy and Impulse...

To Superboy, he had failed to protect them even if it had been arranged by Nightwing to gather critical data on the Light and the Reach. He had been left to protect the Mountain and failed...

He would not fail to protect Gotham Academy.

Superboy looked to the silent and shocked members of Echo. "The Light has orchestrated this widespread attack. They've also managed to make sure that the usual local heroes such as Batman, Robin and Batgirl were already deployed to fight Poison ivy in New York before they dispatched the Terrors. Echo, prepare for combat. I sent another operative ahead to wait for my arrival, and she should be here by now."

"She?" Nathan blinked.

"...Sphere, quit hiding." Superboy groaned. "We have a mission!"

Suddenly something dropped down from the ceiling of the outpost and rolled towards the team from behind. They scrambled out of the way of the large metallic sphere, which stopped by Superboy. The dark haired hero placed one hand on it as if patting a dog on the head. "Team, meet Sphere, or as others call her..."

The sphere began to unfold and change shape...into a large motorcycle that looked like it could house multiple passengers. "The SuperCycle."

"Whoa...that is so cool!" Delilah placed one hand on Sphere's flank while Cyborg's left eye glowed red.

"I'm picking up New Genesis tech on that from my MotherBox." Cyborg frowned. "Anything to worry about?"

Superboy shook his head. "No, I promise you that Sphere is a part of the team. I've known about her origins for five years. She is now part of this team with the blessings of New Genesis." He smiled and climbed into the driver's seat. "I'll take the auxiliary exit and remain low, you three suit up and disguise yourselves before moving out. Secure the academy entrances."

As he spoke he used a control panel built projected as a hologram from his right gauntlet to tap into the base's controls. With a single command the floor in front of the zeta tube split open and the SuperCycle lifted into the air. "Keep in radio contact, but remain silent unless you've spotted one of the Terrors or anything else of notice."

He vanished down into the secret tunnel, which shut overhead as he gunned the SuperCycle forward.

"You heard him," Nathan nodded. "Suit up! Our team needs our help, and the sooner we finish up here the sooner we can help the rest of the League out!"

Time was of the essence if the entire League was now engaged across the entire continent. The Light could be doing anything else while this was merely a distraction; it seemed to be their style to stage one situation while taking advantage of it to acquire their true goal. Still, distraction or not they couldn't afford to ignore this!

Xxx

In Gotham Academy, a teenage girl of about seventeen was sitting in the courtyard reading from a book while nibbling on a sandwich. She paused as a distant and familiar laughter reached her ears. She calmly shut her book and slid it into her bag. Taking a breath, the white haired teenager stood up. "Great...there goes my first day of school."

Another girl who had been sitting next to her on the bench glanced up from her homework. "What? Rose is something wrong?"

Rose turned, and the girl squirmed a bit under the gaze of the older student's single blue eye. "...Becky, do yourself a favor and get a snack," she handed the girl a twenty dollar bill "Preferably from that deli across the street."

"O...kay?" Becky stood up, straightening out her skirt and coat before walking away, confused but pleased that her 'new friend' was being charitable. She exited the courtyard as Rose picked up her backpack and checked the contents...

Her fingers brushed over a mask that was split down the middle, black and golden brown...with just one eyehole. She patted the mask gently and made for the nearest bathroom-

CRAK-THUD! The far wall of the courtyard exploded outwards, sending students into a panic as they fled. Rose however calmly gripped the door of the girl's washroom and pushed her way through the group of panicked girls who were rushing out to see what was happening.

The ones responsible for the disturbance stepped out of the cloud of dust. One was a firmly built blonde woman whose head was shaved on the sides, and she had dark purple lipstick on. She was wearing black shorts with red suspenders, a white tube top, combat boots, black knee length stockings with shin pads, and black fingerless gloves.

The man with her was much larger, a walking mountain practically. He had short blonde hair and blue eyes to match his companion, and wore black trousers with red suspenders-then again seeing as how snugly they fit it seemed more to be as part of a gimmick than to keep his trousers up. He bulged with muscle, and had a cocky grin on his face.

"Hello Ladies and Boy-Ladies! We'll be entertainin' you fine folk today! And by that I mean beating one another to death _with_ each other!" Tommy Terror announced. "That is unless you get smart and tell us where to find a few blanket'n thong types around here."

Tuppence huffed. "What my brother means is that we're here lookin' for a few new superheroes who're livin' in this uh..._fine _city. And..." She knocked over a pillar by practically leaning against it, making it block the entrance and almost crushing a few students who had been fleeing. "Nobody goes anywhere until we find 'em and make sacks outta their skin."

"So sit tight kiddies!" Tommy cackled. "Wait for the news choppers and reporters to arrive and we'll have those new brats comin' in to play the hero like always."

"You read my mind, brother dearest." Tuppence nodded, grabbing one boy by his sports jacket. "But maybe we ought to break a jaw or two just to let the cops know we ain't foolin' around."

"D-do you know who I am?!" The white haired boy demanded. "I am Max Powers and I won't be handled like some-AH!" The boy was thrust into the air and held up by Tuppence's hand.

"Far as I'm concerned your name is 'My new bitch' until I'm done here, got it?" She snapped. "Now shut up and go wet yourself _away_ from my new boots." She dropped the boy, who scrambled back into the crowd of students gathering by the washroom door while Tommy had other pillars block the other exits that the courtyard had to make sure nobody interfered.

"Tommy!" Tuppence barked. "Check the bathrooms! They've got windows in 'em and we don't want any runners!"

"I can't fit through the doors! You do it!" Tommy snapped, making Tuppence groan in exasperation and tear the girl's room door off of its hinges before storming in.

"Alright!" She shouted. "If anybody's in here, get the fuck out into the court yard or I'll drag you out by your pretty little hair!"

Two stalls opened and a couple of frightened students rushed out past Tuppence, whose eyes were fixed on a window at the back...the window that had been smashed open.

"...Got plenty'o brats already anyways." She decided and walked back out into the courtyard. "Won't bother with the boy's bathroom. They're probably long gone anyways."

Tommy was holding one girl up by the back of her coat. "I don't mind, got plenty of pretty looking girls here, all teary eyed and looking good for the cameras! If that don't bring those heroes comin', don't know what will-Ow!" He rubbed the side of his neck where something was now sticking into his flesh...

A shuriken shaped weapon. A disc with four curved blades sticking out of it, and a black R on it...that was releasing a series of beeps increasing in speed until-

BZZZZZ! Tommy cried out, dropping the girl he was menacing and stumbling away as he clumsily tore the shuriken out and tossed it away. Tuppence immediately crushed it under her boot and looked up to the source of the weapon...

Standing on the roof overlooking the courthouse was the figure of a woman clad in black She was wearing chainmail beneath her black sleeveless shirt, and had a set of pistols resting in holsters strapped to her legs, which were clad in snug fitting black pants and knee length combat boots. Her gloves were a dark golden brown color and elbow length, and covering her head was a reinforced helmet that was golden brown on one side and black on the other...the former had a single eye hole for her to see through. Two lengths of red fabric extended out from under the helmet, which kept the woman's hair tightly bound and hidden thanks to the additional headband she was wearing. The lengths of red swayed in the wind as the woman reached over her shoulders and grasped the twin curved swords resting there, crossed over one another.

"That Deathstroke?" Tommy asked.

"No..." Tuppence cracked her knuckles and smirked. "That'd be one of our targets."

"Tommy and Tuppence Terror," The woman said out loud. "I see you have gone from combating heroes to terrorizing children. The League was no exaggerating as to how pathetic you two truly are."

Tommy smirked. "Bring that pretty neck of yours down here and say that to me again."

The woman drew her swords, which were covered in bright blue symbols that sparked with energy. "Gladly."

The woman known as Ravager leaped down and was ready for when Tuppence charged in first with a round house kick that blasted a hole clean through the wall behind where her target had been a moment ago. Ravager had leaped into the air and twisted while passing over Tuppence. She sliced downwards with her twin blades, cutting into Tuppence's back and slicing away the straps of her tube top. Tuppence blushed and yelped, trying to keep the garment from falling down. "H-hey!"

THUD!

Tuppence stumbled as Ravager slammed the hilts of her swords into the sides of the blonde woman's skull. The Terror sister snarled and tried to slam both of her fists down on top of Ravager's skull, only to hit thin air and stumble forward as Ravager leaped over her, flipping in mid air and planting something on the back of Tuppence's skull.

THOOM! The miniature disc grenade exploded, sending Tuppence flying into one of the pillars she had used to barricade the courtyard. Tommy roared and leaped into the air, aiming a fist down at Ravager as he descended towards her. She barely managed to perform a handless back flip in time to avoid being reduced to pulp against the ground. Still, the ground within several feet cracked and shifts, making the sword wielding woman to stumble a bit.

Tommy spun with balance, speed and grace that she wouldn't have attributed to one of his size and intellect; his foot slammed into Ravager and sent her flying across the courtyard. She struck the water fountain at the center of the courtyard and flopped to the shallow water without a sound, limp as a marionette with its strings severed.

"Hah! She ain't so tough!" Tommy bragged.

Tuppence meanwhile was shrieking and cursing. "My hair! She put my hair on fire!" She was batting out the smoking blonde locks, looking more furious than ever as she stormed towards Ravager's form.

Tommy reached her first and hauled Ravager up, seizing her by the front of her costume and hefting her into the air. "Maybe you can return the favor before I pulverize her, sister Tuppence. Let's take a look under that mask."

His free hand gripped the side of the helmet and prepared to rip it off, but a white rope of light coiled around his hand and tore it away before he could dig into the metal. Tommy was thrown off balance and then swung clean across the courtyard by the white tendril. After he landed he noticed that the students were climbing out over one of the collapsed pillars, making their escape as Tommy's attacker floated overhead as a silent protector...

She wore a skin tight outfit of red, white and blue-blue being the primary color. Her attire consisted of blue shorts with a dark red belt and matching red stripes on the outer leg, a long sleeved blue crop top with a white star on the chest and several smaller ones on the sleeves, red gloves and boots and finally a blue mask that covered everything below her hairline save for her eyes and mouth. In her hand was a golden staff from which the white tendril of light came from.

"Two on one isn't very fair," The masked blonde said, setting her free hand on her hip. "Let's even things up."

Tuppence glared at the newcomer, her frown slowly curling back into her usual smirk. "Yeah." She reached into a pocket on her shorts. "_Lets._"

She pulled out a device unfamiliar to the star spangled heroine who had interfered. However just at that moment a winged form landed on the water fountain and folded her metallic wings. "Mother Box!" Daemon had been shown the Mother Box residing in Cyborg's body during their interactions on the Watch Tower, and had been told of its many applications, most especially its Boom Tubes.

"I know," Ravager, who suddenly rose to her feet whipped out one of her pistols and took aim at Tuppence.

BANG! She was a second too later however, and Tuppence opened a Boom Tube before the device was knocked from her grasp, the bullet barely bruising her skin. The blonde villain flexed her hand and glared at Ravager. "You're really gettin' annoying."

As she and Tommy regrouped several silhouettes appeared in the Boom Tube and stepped out to reveal three new villains: Icicle Junior, Bane and Wotan.

"Heeeey lookie here," Icicle rubbed his hands together. "Three very fine lady heroes and-ooh! Tuppence! Who went and burned that gorgeous hair away?"

"Talk to the Deathstroke rip-off, I want the star spangled bitch there." Tuppence replied before leaping into the air. The staff wielding girl struck a pose ,ready to defend herself only for Tuppence to be knocked out of the air in mid leap by a blast from Cyborg's sonic cannon. He and All-Star now stood on the pillar the students had climbed over to escape.

"Looks like we arrived just in time," All-Star crossed his arms and smirked.

"It would seem we have more opposition than intended." Bane commented, cracking his neck once. "No matter, they will die all the same." He then twisted the dial on his hand, and began to feed the substance known as Venom into the back of his skull through a tube. Immediately Bane began to bulge, snarling as his muscles expanded tremendously.

"Uh...Cyborg?" All-Star glanced up at his older team mate. "Please tell me you can match that guy."

"Uh...maybe, but between him and two more fighters with super strength I might need a little help," Cyborg replied as the five villains immediately moved to engage the heroes.

"Count me in then!" The staff wielding girl shouted as she flew down to the duo. "Name's Star Girl, Red told me to expect you guys but he never said anything about there being any attacks."

"The League is engaged across two continents," All-Star quickly explained. "Explain later, incoming!" He

Tommy and Tuppence tag teamed against Cyborg and Star Girl. Cyborg grappled with Tommy, who pushed the smaller fighter back despite his feet carving up the ground and creating two small trails of shattered stone and the soil beneath them. Finally they reached the edge of the court yard and Cyborg's back opened up, revealing two jets that hummed to life before launching him and Tommy into the air where Star Girl blasted Tommy in the face, causing him to lose focus and letting Cyborg swing him around and into Tuppence as she tried to jump Star Girl from behind.

"Thanks!" She waved to Cyborg as he set back down and folded his jets back up and nodded to her. But Tuppence came back with a vengeance and slammed into Star Girl from behind, sending her plummeting through the air as the Terror sister kept herself on top, planning to crush the smaller girl beneath her. But they stopped short of the ground, and Star Girl strained as her staff's magic kept her mere inches from being crushed beneath Tuppence.

"What?" Tuppence growled and raised both hands to slam them down onto Star Girl's skull. The girl flipped over and slammed Tuppence into the ground, momentarily disorienting her and allowing Star Girl to break free and swing her staff down. Tuppence grabbed the metal shaft of the staff and smirked, preparing to break it only to find that the metal would not bend or even slightly deform. Star Girl briefly zapped the older fighter into letting go and shot back into the air as Tommy held Cyborg in a headlock-which was why he hadn't immediately blasted Tuppence away from his new ally.

"Hey, tell me Tin Man, does your head screw off?!" Tommy grunted with the effort of keeping Cyborg pinned. He finally managed to swing him around and send him face first into the crumbled remains of one of the pillars. He then charged forward to deliver a finishing blow, only for Cyborg to catch the incoming fist and stop it cold. Cyborg was releasing bursts of steam from seams in his synthetic skin, evidence that his body was producing enormous amounts of power to allow him to match the meta human.

"No, but my arm's detachable!" He snapped before aiming his other arm right in Tommy's face. A moment later his arm detached with a 'click' and shot forward on a rocket jet, slamming into Tommy's face and spinning him around. Cyborg slid forward and managed to trip Tommy up, and then pulled him into an arm lock as his rocket arm returned and snapped back into place. "And you might be strong, but you aren't winning any boxing tournaments soon with how you fight!"

Tommy growled and slowly raised his arm off of the ground before slamming it and Cyborg into the ground hard enough to make Cyborg sink into the lawn. He repeated this two more times before cyborg let go, and then mounted the smaller fighter before proceeding to pound on him. Cyborg's internal sensors were going off as they felt a single tiny crack appear in his metal skeleton.

_WARNING. Skeletal integrity at 85%._

Xxx

Across the courtyard Ravager was dodging numerous shots from Icicle Junior, who froze the ground ahead of her to prevent her from performing any of her usual acrobatics to dodge him. Ravager stopped in time and whipped out her handgun again, firing several times as her opponent created a thick barrier of ice. "Ooh that's a new one! Never met a hero who uses guns before!"

"Check your records, Einstein," Ravager muttered softly. "I'm not a hero."

She then threw another disc grenade, which shattered Icicle's shield and allowed her to shoot him just once in his left shoulder. The ice armor shattered, and Icicle Jr cried out as he stumbled back. "You-you really shot me!"

"Surprised?" Ravager holstered the gun. "You'll live, but only because I've promised the League not to kill." She leaped over the ice coating the ground around her and delivered a kick to Icicle's jaw, sending him flying into the damaged water fountain. "Pathetic."

But as she turned away Icicle rose up and formed a hammer which he gripped with one hand. With the other had formed an ice slide that allowed him to shoot across the court yard back towards Ravager, who had been reloading her now empty pistol and preparing to help Cyborg deal with Tommy. He struck her in the ribs and knocked her to the ground, cackling as he leaped off his ice bridge and slammed the hammer down on Ravager again. She groaned and rolled on her side, clutching her ribs.

"Not so bad ass now are you?!" Icicle grinned sadistically as he raised his hammer to deliver another blow...

Only for Ravager to roll back towards him and snap one of her legs upwards, kicking him in the crotch. Icicle's whole body stiffened as he dropped his hammer. He clutched himself and fell over with a whimper.

Ravager stood up and dusted off her armored costume, looking down at Icicle as he stared up with watering eyes. "You...you shouldn't even be able to breathe after that..." His attack should have knocked the breath out of her and left her unable to move with such speed and strength!

"You can thank my father for that not being the case the next time you see him." She coldly replied before kicking Icicle in the jaw, making him roll on his back with a dazed look. She then saw All Star just barely contending with Bane and ran to his aid.

Icicle groaned as he looked up at the sky. "What a woman..."

Xxx

"You fight as if you are one of Batman's birds." Bane commented, walking towards All-Star. "I would speak of breaking you as I did him...but even I grow tired of saying it. I'd rather just get it over with." He lunged forward, and All-Star leaped into the air, dodging Bane's first punch. The super villain attempted to swat him out of the air, and then managed to spin around and punch All-Star as he landed. The young hero crossed his arms over his chest, and managed to absorb a good deal of the energy from the blow, but was still sent flying back and shattered a window on the second story of the courtyard.

Ravager landed on Bane's back and began to unsheathe a knife before Bane quickly grabbed her leg and swung her off, holding her upside down by her leg. "Nice try, _chica. _But that has happened once too many time."

"Has _this _happened too much?!" All-Star roared as he launched himself from the window and landed a few feet from Bane. His Kinetic Energy Cell shined as it provided him with the power needed to launch himself forward and slam into Bane, knocking the masked fighter back a few feet and making him drop Ravager.

Bane frowned. "Such power in one small package. This will be good." He smirked and cracked his knuckles.

All-Star glanced at Ravager. "Just to confirm: you're a member of Echo Team, right?"

"According to AquaLad, I am." Ravager replied, pulling out a set of knives. "Take him head on. I'll try to get at that line feeding him the venom."

"Deal!" All-Star set his Kinetic Energy Cell to full charge, dashing right towards Bane and swiftly moving out of the way of Bane's punch by twisting his body so that he moved around the outstretched limb. He then grabbed Bane's arm and used it to swing his whole body up, kicking Bane in the jaw and then briefly landing on his thick arm. He pushed off of it and leaped over Bane, getting his bo staff out for a second round of attacks only to be punched by Bane on the way down, his weapon clattering to the ground as he was thrown against the single tree in the courtyard. Luckily his Kinetic Energy cell and natural meta abilities allowed him to absorb most of the energy from the impact, so instead of snapping bones it left him sore and winded for a few moments.

Bane kept one eye on Ravager as she tried to get around behind him, and drew a hand gun from the now stretched belt he wore. "I usually don't prefer guns, but for you I will make an exception."

He took aim, and Ravager scrambled to dive behind the demolished water fountain. Just as he fired his first short, which missed Ravager's feet by inches Bane's gun was impaled by a shuriken thrown by All-Star. The masked villain tossed the now useless weapon away and glared as the sports themed hero charged back into the fight. Thinking that All-Star would try to repeat his strategy of dodging his first attack to land one of his own, Bane prepared a surprise of his own for the boy.

All-Star darted a step to the right to go around Bane's arm as he aimed another haymaker, but Bane had feigned the punch and snatched All-Star up by the throat. "I've changed my mind from earlier you know...now I will break the boy." He reared back his other arm to cave All-Star's face in.

Ravager made her move, leaping past Bane as silently as an owl. Her knife cut through the line that fed him his Venom so quickly that he did not notice until she landed and rolled. His eyes widened as his free hand went to the back of his head instinctively. "No!"

"Yes!" All-Star swung both of his legs back as Bane began to shrink, and threw his feet forward. He kicked Bane in the face and pushed off of him, flipping over in mid leap once. "All done now Bane!"

Ravager saw her team mate preparing to deal the knockout blow, and raised one hand to stop him. "Wait! He's not-"

Bane flipped onto his feet and swiftly swept All-Star's feet out from under him. "Nice try chico!" The man rolled to his feet. "You'll find that I am not helpless without my Venom."

"Great," All-Star groaned as he got up. "Now he tells me."

"We are wasting time here," Ravager said, cleaning some Venom off of her blade. "Let's finish him and the rest." She threw the knife at Bane, who leaned out of the way to dodge and gave Ravager the opening she needed. She flew at Bane, aiming a kick for his face. He caught her in mid air as her leg passed his head and looped his arm around her thigh. His other arm reached out and grabbed her by the throat.

"If you are trying to pretend to be Deathstroke's apprentice." Bane smirked as Ravager struggled. "You are doing a poor job of it." He slammed her into the ground, expecting her to go limp and possibly lose consciousness. Instead she glared up at him, her single eye narrowing before she used her free leg to kick him in the face.

"Boy! Hit him!" She commanded.

"It's All-Star-"

"Just _hit him NOW!_" Ravager snarled, managing to flip the struggling Bane over and get him into an arm lock, pressing one foot into his throat. Without his Venom Bane was having a harder time trying to escape.

All-Star, scowling from the lack of courtesy obeyed Ravager's order and jumped up. He brought his elbow down on Bane's ribs, putting as much energy as he could into the blow. The result cracked or broke most of Bane's ribs, and made the villain groan and cease his struggling.

Ravager briefly checked for a pulse. "He's fine, just unconscious." She released him and swiftly rolled to her feet. "The next time I say hit him," She grabbed All-Star by the front of his outfit and shook him. "You _hit him!_"

All-Star responded by shoving her away. "You're not the leader here, alright?! Now shut up and help the others!" He looked around. "And where the hell is Superboy?!"

KRUNCH! Something crashed down on the water fountain, levelling perhaps the only intact structure left in the courtyard. It was a large grey skinned creature known as Blockbuster, and hovering down was Superboy on the SuperCycle.

"Sorry," He said as he hopped down, having obviously heard All-Star's exclamation. "Blockbuster must have been dispatched to back up the Terrors. He jumped me when I tried to move in." He smirked as he looked to the downed bipedal monster, which was clearly out cold. "I think he's out of practice, it wasn't nearly that easy to beat him before."

Suddenly Cyborg crashed down near the trio. "Ugh...guys...need some help." As All-Star helped him up Tommy Terror walked towards them.

"That was a good warm up Tin Man! But now I'd like me a taste of a real fight," Tommy motioned for Superboy to come at him. "Ready for another beating, Supey?"

Superboy's eyes narrowed. "You're different, Tom."

"Yeah, and you're still scrawny as the day I nearly broke your hand off." Tommy taunted.

"No, I'm serious." Superboy looked to the team as they regrouped around him. "Look at him and Tuppence, they're...bigger than they were when I saw them last year at Mount Justice."

"Bigger?" Cyborg scanned Tommy. "You're absolutely sure of that?"

Superboy nodded. "I never forget."

"Call it our brand new work out regime, Supey," Tuppence said as she stood by her brother, the rest of the villains besides Bane and Blockbuster reforming around them. Daemon bore a burn on her cheek, compliments of a spell from Wotan who was nursing a black eye. "Tommy, give yourself a shot."

"As you wish, Sister Tuppence," Tommy chuckled as he reached into his belt and produced a syringe. He jammed it into his neck and pressed down on the button on the side. With a single chime the contents all but vanished from the tube in the blink of an eye.

"I don't know how, but there's a massive chemical reaction occurring throughout Terror." Cyborg reported to his team. "It's almost like Bane's Venom but...I'm not registering the activity found in a body's reaction to Venom injections."

"Keep guessing then Tin Man," Tommy flexed one arm as his muscles bulged even further. He was now almost the same size as Blockbuster and breathing heavy after the metamorphosis was completed.

Wotan frowned at the blonde brute. "Quit wasting time showing off! Superboy is here, complete the mission!"

"Gladly," Tommy lunged forward, each step shaking the court yard.

"Everybody back!" Superboy shoved the team aside and met Tommy head on. He leaped up as Tommy threw a punch powerful enough to kill any normal human, and met it with his own fist. As they clashed, a shockwave travelled out from where they had met and threw most of the spectators off their feet. Daemon managed to remain upright until Superboy went flying into her. Tommy meanwhile was dusting off his knuckles, looking like he hadn't broken a sweat in beating off one of the strongest members of Young Justice with one hit.

"Ugh...he's so strong now." Superboy gasped as he got back up. "Stronger than...stronger than Bane or Blockbuster. We can't face them, especially if they've all got similar injections."

"Could...could I try?"

Xxx

From a nearby rooftop, the being was observing the battle. He could see past the walls to view the battle while remaining in his cross legged position on a roof nearly a hundred feet away, his bright eyes closed. "**What is this...?**"

The battle had been so entertaining to watch. The watcher had been prepared to decide which of Earth's champions it would hunt first when this newcomer appeared from seemingly nowhere...

And nobody 'appeared from nowhere' for this celestial being. It recognized the aura about this person, who resembled a teenage girl of little more than fifteen, wearing a Gotham Academy uniform and sunglasses. She was carrying a cane used by humans with blindness to guide them, but she was releasing a massive amount of energy with each step she took.

Xxx

"Child, you must leave." Ravager said to the girl who had approached them, somehow having gotten over the rubble blocking the exits and reached them without being noticed.

She was shorter than all of them, and was latino with dark hair that was pulled back in a low and loose pony tail, leaving the front of her hair to be parted from the left. She wore a silver ring on each hand, and a set of earrings that had gems that were dark blue yet did not seem to match all of the physical features of a sapphire or any jewel or stone that Ravager was familiar with.

"I'm supposed to be here though," The girl insisted. "After all, you're my team."

...

"...this is our sixth?" All-Star whispered to Daemon, who shrugged.

Tommy burst out laughing. "You gotta be kiddin' me! This little brat is one of yours?! Oh man you're killin' me!"

Wotan floated towards Tommy and rested a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Thomas, I advise caution. I sense something off about this girl." Tommy shook him off and stomped forward towars the group.

"Let's just clean up the trash and get back to base," Tommy decided. "Plenty more heroes out there we can pick off before lunch time!" He prepared to deliver a final blow, and Superboy was ready to once again try his hand at protecting Echo Team from his rival...

But the blind girl pushed past Superboy and dropped her cane. She raised one hand as Tommy swung his arm down.

"NO!" Superboy jumped forward to push her aside as the rest of Echo prepared their own attacks to try and save her from the Terror brother...

Only for Tommy's attack to stop as soon as it hit the girl's hand, which was so small that Tommy's now much larger hand could have enveloped her whole arm up to the shoulder. Tommy gaped at first and tried to push, but the girl held firm and grasped Tommy's huge fist with both hands. She began to push back, straining to do so. She bit her lip. "Come on...come on...!"

Tommy desperately punched her with his free hand, and both the team and the villains were too shocked by what they were seeing to react even as the girl's sun glasses shattered and fell to the ground. When Tommy saw her open her eyes...

He saw two pools of black, filled with many white dots along with other colors and shapes that he had seen on his trips into space with the Light. Nebulas, solar storms...it was like looking at a clear view of outer space.

"Oh and my name isn't 'brat'." She smiled. "It's Nebula Girl."

She pushed past Tommy's outstretched hand and punched him in the jaw...making him fall right on his back. Now Nebula Girl was gasping for breath, holding her hand and backing up towards the others as Daemon whistled. "The smaller they get, the harder they hit."

Superboy looked down at Nebula Girl as she stopped next to him. "I...I didn't think you'd be so...young."

"Robin was a kid when he started appearing with Batman," Nebula Girl shrugged. "I'm almost fifteen, what's so surprising?" She blushed a bit from all the attention she had gotten. "Uh...just so you guys know, it took a lot of power out of me to do that," She added in a whisper. "That guy is seriously strong, I'll need a minute before I can do all of that again."

Tommy growled as he got back up. "Ain't no pint sized midget with freaky eyes makin' a fool of Tommy Terror!" He pulled out two more syringes similar to the first and jammed them both into his neck.

Tuppence gasped and rushed towards her brother. "Tommy no! Strange said to wait before you-" Tommy shoved her back...and that simple gesture sent her flying as the larger Terror continued to grow from the mysterious contents of his syringes. He went for another pair, but Superboy had seen enough.

"Echo, stop him!" He launched himself forward and wrapped his arms around Tommy's tree trunk sized wrist as the villain tried to fumble for another syringe-he seemed to be carrying a pack full of the stuff! The members of Echo joined in.

All-Star wrapped a cable around Tommy's left wrist and began to use all of the remaining energy in his KEC and his own natural reserves to pull, trying to stop Tommy from injecting himself again. Daemon grabbed on and helped him, her magically augmented strength being a major boon. Cyborg launched his own cable onto Tommy's opposite wrist and helped Superboy to pull it outwards away from Terror. Ravager pulled out one of her pistols again and repeatedly shot Tommy's left wrist to try and force him to drop the syringe, and Nebula Girl assisted Superboy and Cyborg with the right hand.

"I'm...gonna...kill...ALL OF YOU!" Tommy roared, sweat pouring down his face as his muscles bulged to unnatural sizes, making him look like some out of control growth with a face and hair. His skin was turning red, and his clothes were now in shreds and barely holding together.

"Uh...I think it's time for us to um...leave." Icicle picked up Tuppence's MotherBox and opened a new Boom Tube. Wotan used his magic to bring Bane and Blockbuster over to them while nodding his agreement to the younger villain's proposal.

"Wait! We can't leave him!" Tuppence shouted as her companions stepped through.

Icicle paused, hesitating. "...Wotan, we'll be right behind you!" He rushed over to Tuppence. "Tel me Strange had something to counter that shit your brother just put in himself."

"We have to take him back so they can remove it before it bonds to him!" Tuppence explained. "It's increasing everything! His temper, his strength, his everything!"

"Alright then..." Icicle nodded. "Guess I'd better cool him off!" He formed an ice slide and shot towards Tommy and Echo Team.

Superboy saw the young man charging up a powerful ice blast. "Echo, pull back! Pull-" The syringe shattered in Tommy's grip, splashing Superboy with a bright blue substance. Some of it got into his mouth and eyes, making him cough as he jumped away from Tommy with the younger heroes obeying his order.

Icicle blasted Tommy with a stream of ice. The monstrous Terror brother roared and tried to turn to face his former ally, but Icicle did not let up on him and continued to freeze blast the fifteen foot tall Terror until he was frozen from head to toe in a thick layer of ice.

Icicle Jr was now gasping for breath. "That won't hold him for long!" He looked to the team. "If he breaks free he'll wipe out this whole school before anybody comes to help you. Help us get him through that Boom Tube and he'll be our problem!"

"We're not really going to help him, are we?" Daemon demanded, crossing her arms and glaring at the ice themed villain.

"We have little choice unless we wish to have hundreds, if not thousands of casualties." Ravager commented while Superboy rubbed his face with his forearm to clear his eyes. "Thomas Terror's abilities appear to be augmented by those syringes he injected himself with. I doubt we could defeat him as he is."

"She's right," Superboy nodded. "We have to get him through that Boom Tube! Push him through if we have to!" He rushed towards the frozen Tommy Terror. "If you've got super strength, PUSH!"

He was quickly joined by Daemon, All-Star, Cyborg, Ravager and Nebula Girl. Tuppence Terror rushed over a moment later and gave her own effort as cracks began to appear in the ice. "Icicle!"

"I've got it!" Icicle Jr poured more ice blasts onto the layers that kept Tommy imprisoned. "Hurry it up! I'm running low on juice!" He formed a layer of flat ice ahead of them to help push the frozen Terror on. Star Girl flew above and held out her staff, the rope of white energy lashing out and surrounding the frozen Terror. She began to tug him towards the still open Boom Tube, greatly assisting.

"Can't...keep it...up!" Icicle gasped for breath as they reached the half way point. Daemon had to melt the ice under their feet to keep the group from losing traction and tripping, which also helped to melt a bit of Tommy's prison.

"Come on Icicle! We're almost there!" Tuppence begged, focused on getting her brother home to where he could be hopefully saved from the condition he had put himself in. "Just ten more feet! Please!"

Superboy groaned with the effort. If he wasn't part human, if he had all of the powers of Superman he would be able to lift this like it was no problem! But he was just a clone...a weak, imperfect clone frozen as a sixteen year old...

But suddenly he felt the ice prison grow lighter, becoming easier to move. In fact it even moved out of his grasp for a second before he pushed forward to try and keep up with it. All of a sudden the rest of the group fell behind and struggled to keep up with him as he pushed the frozen Tommy Terror towards the Boom Tube. A red field of energy was surrounding him, pushing the ice just a few inches ahead of his hands and taking the strain off of the clone.

"Whoa..." Cyborg scanned Superboy. "I don't know what that is...but I don't think Superbo is supposed to be able to do that."

"It's a telekinetic field," Ravager said. "I've seen it before in other Metas; a tactile telekinetic field."

"Whoa, Superboy is psychic then?" All-Star asked as Superboy reached the opening. The ice was close to shattering as Tommy Terror struggled to free himself.

"Apparently," Daemon nodded before Terror shattered the ice around his upper body and began to beat on the ice covering his lower body. Icicle Jr tried to blast him and restore the ice prison, but barely got a whisp of snow out before falling to his knees.

"I...I'm all out." He whispered. "I'm sorry Tuppence...I'm sorry."

Superboy snarled and leaped into the air...no, he was floating in the air now! He raised both arms over his head and swung downwards. The telekinetic field surrounding him made Tommy bend down and howl in pain. Superboy then followed up with a devastating uppercut that sent Tommy flying back into the open Boom Tube and shattering the ice around his legs. The monster that had been Tommy Terror finally vanished.

"I did it!" Superboy said, gasping for breath. "I...wow..." He lowered himself back down to the ground and stared at his hands, the telekinetic field fading. "Did I...did I just fly?" He hadn't flown since using the Shields provided to him by his human 'father', Lex Luthor six years ago. He had sworn to never accept such a gift again and had been content to be limited to his abilities for the most part...but did he really just fly on his own?

"We've gotta go get Tommy under control!" Tuppence helped Icicle up, slinging one of his arms around her neck and supporting his weight. She stopped by the entrance of the Boom Tube and looked back at Superboy. "...thank you." She said in an uncharacteristically soft tone before helping Icicle through the portal.

It finally closed, and the last of the villains menacing Gotham Academy were finally gone. The seven heroes who had stood against them stood in silence for several moments before Superboy tapped his ear.

"...Superboy to Watch Tower...you're not going to believe what I have to tell you."

Xxx

End of episode 3

Holy craaaaap I think I seriously rushed through this whole thing. I'm sorry if the quality is lower than you expected, I was in a hurry to get this up before I go to work. I likely left numerous spelling and grammar mistakes.


	4. Episode Four

Young Justice Echo, Volume One

_In the aftermath of the Reach Invasion's failure, new heroes have stepped up to join the combined forces of the Justice League and Young Justice. A new team, Echo, has been formed and immediately finds themselves facing a new enemy, and a new invasion._

I do not own The Justice League, Young Justice, or any and all characters associated with either the shows, comics, etc. All are property of DC Comics.

Also, I've decided that I'm not going to bother with the whole EST, UTC, etc. I'll just say what time it is at a particular location.

**Echo Team Roster**

**E01- All-Star**

**E02- Cyborg**

**E03- Daemon**

**E04- Ravager**

**E05- Star Girl**

**E06- Nebula Girl**

**META HUMAN CLASSIFICATIONS**

**Class 1- Elemental/Psionic/Magical Manipulation**

**Class 2- Metamorphosis based**

**Class 3- Biologically natural abilities (Technically not a Meta, but classified as such for convenience sakes one example being Superman whose natural ability to absorb solar energy to fuel his powers has him classified as a Class 3)**

**Class 4- A combination of any two or more classes.**

**Class 5- Non-carbon based entity. (Classification only used for Appellaxians in recent history)**

**Class 6- Cybernetic/Chemical augmentation.**

**Class 7- Possession Magical Artefact/Weapon-again, used for convenience sake.**

**Non Meta- Used to identify regular heroes such as Batman, Green Arrow, etc who do not possess any form of powers or magic.**

**Classes are listed in order according to when they were catalogued by the Justice League dating back to its founding-minus the Non Meta class.**

**ECHO TEAM CLASSIFICATIONS**

**01- Class 1**

**02- Class 6**

**03- Class 4**

**04- Class 6**

**05- Class 7**

**06- Class 3**

Xxx

YOUNG JUSTICE, SEASON THREE, ECHO

EPISODE FOUR – Hunt, Part One

**1:21 PM, April 3****rd**** 2017**

**Watch Tower**

**Infirmary**

"_Analysis completed,_" Red Tornado announced, standing in a control booth while Superboy was laying on his back in the center of a circular room where numerous lines of green light moved across his body, now clad in just a set of black shorts. "_Superboy, after conducting scans on your genetic code I have discovered something...startling._"

Connor Kent swallowed, not letting his expression change. "Just...say it."

"_You are in possession of a Meta-Gene, likely derived from your human DNA._" Red Tornado explained. "_It is also the likeliest source of the power you exhibited when engaging Thomas Terror; Tactile Telekinesis, the creation of a telekinetic field around your entire body. It amplified your strength many times over, and enabled you to mimic flight. For now though, after viewing your attempts to use it, I have deduced that the range in which it is effective is limited to several feet, no more than sixty five inches._"

"So it's short range telekinesis," Connor sat up. "It might not be Kryptonian flight, but it let me beat up Tommy even after all of those injections he gave himself."

"_There is more,_" Red Tornado continued. "_...we may wish to contact Superman and request that he cease any long term missions he is taking part in._"

"What? Why?" Connor looked up at the robot. "My brother's got a lot of work to do and-"

"_Superboy,_" Red Tornado cut him off. "_...your Kryptonian DNA is evolving, reacting to the chemical which you ingested; the same chemical that enhanced Thomas Terror's meta gene induced powers of super strength and invulnerability. I believe that it is allowing recently inactive areas of your Kryptonian physiology to suddenly activate._"

"Wait, you mean..." Connor's eyes widened. "I'm...unlocking more of my Kryptonian side? Like powers?"

Red Tornado nodded. "_That is a reasonable assumption. As such, Superman should be on sight and ready to render assistance should any Kryptonian powers manifest. Until then I recommend practicing with your Meta-Gene ability._"

"Oh you bet I will," Connor floated off of the ground. "It feels so easy to do! I probably had a lot of practice when I was using those Shields a few years ago, but this feels a lot more natural and easy!" He set back down on the floor. "Did you manage to recover any samples of the formula that Terror was using?"

"_Unfortunately your body absorbed every last drop,_" It was now AquaLad who was speaking, having joined Red Tornado. "_Superboy, you are cleared for active duty under the supervision of Ms Martian until we are certain that your new power does not show any sign of health related concerns. For now we are ruling out the formula as a form of Meta Gene enhancement or activation key, based off of the field data collected by Cyborg and from Red Tornado's analysis of your body chemistry._"

"Yeah...it made Terror stronger and brought my powers out." Connor nodded. "Kaldur, this makes me wonder...what are the odds that I would have a Meta-Gene? I mean...I was created years before the Meta-Gene became a widely known fact, back when even the League was looking into how people kept manifesting powers. What if...what if the Light has known about the Meta-Gene for far longer than we believed?"

"_If this is true, then their exploitation of the Reach would have been a boon to any Meta Gene research they were conducting._" AquaLad admitted before stepping down from the control booth and into the room as Connor pulled his uniform on. "Especially the Reachs' ability to selectively activate Meta Gene abilities at will. All modern data pertaining to the Meta Gene comes directly from the Reach's captured computer files."

"...the Reach would have been a god send to the Light if they were just in the testing phase of their Meta Gene research." Connor proposed. "What if that was another reason for bringing them to Earth? It would have advanced their research by years, decades even."

AquaLad nodded. "All of this is still speculation though. We need concrete evidence before we begin to follow what is at best a theory, although the evidence to suggest this is...compelling." They both left the room. "For now, I am assigning our squadrons to pursue leads on early Meta-Gene research. One promising lead lies in Intergang."

"I understand that: if it's of alien origins then Intergang likely knows about it. And that could provide us a trail to follow," Connor accepted AquaLad's reasoning. "A trail that could connect us to the Light, and in the long run help locate any associates or research facilities."

"And to what the Light's long term plans may be," AquaLad added. "The War World, the Meta-Gene research...What is Savage planning to do with all of this?" He shook his head. "Six years...and we're only beginning to pick up a scent on their plans." He felt Connor's hand on his shoulder.

"We'll have them this time around, Kaldur." Connor assured his leader before hearing his name being called from the far side of the Watch Tower. "...I think I just heard Clark calling me through several air tight security doors and half a kilometer of metal and stone."

Kaldur raised one brow. "It would appear your super hearing has improved already, and within only a few hours of being exposed to the Meta Gene formula."

Connor turned and began to float up, surrounded by his glowing telekinetic force field. "I'd better go let him know that I'm alright, he's probably-" He paused and set himself back down on his feet. "It feels weird to fly like that...I'll see you later, Kaldur." He then took off, sprinting faster than AquaLad had seen him move before.

"...I just hope your new abilities do not come with undesired side effects, my friend." The atlantian whispered once Connor was long gone.

Xxx

**11:00 AM, April 5****th****, 2017**

**Watch Tower**

**YJ Training Room**

**Two hours ago**

"_Recognized: Nebula Girl, E06." The computer announced as Nebula Girl placed her hand against the palm scanner of the doors, which hissed open to show the immense training room and her five team mates._

"_Welcome to the Watch Tower!" All-Star greeted her. "Can't wait to see what you can do in here."_

"_Thank you," Nebula Girl, now clad in a dark blue outfit with a black cloak and mask smile. Her mask had white lenses to hide her starry eyes, which could stick out in the dark._

"_Alright, we haven't really gotten to know you three since the League let us have the last couple days off," Cyborg said, addressing Nebula Girl, Star Girl and Ravager. "Let's start over. I'm Cyborg, call me Victor."_

"_All-Star," Nathan took off his mask. "Nathan Shepherd."_

"_Daemon," Daemon shed her form and became Delilah again. "Delilah Knight."_

"_Nebula Girl," NG curtsied. "Aurora Winters."_

"_Star Girl," Star Girl took off her mask. "Courtney Whitmore."_

_Their eyes settled on Ravager, who looked hesitant to remove her own mask._

"_Come on Ravager, we're all team mates here." Cyborg encouraged her. "You can trust us."_

_..._

"_Ravager," Ravager slowly reached up and then unclipped her helmet, pulling off over her head. Her white hair tumbled down to her shoulders, and her eye patch was revealed to them "...Rose Wilson."_

_There was a sudden silence in the training room._

"_You mean like...Slade Wilson? Deathstroke?" All-Star asked, looking a shade more pale than a minute ago._

"_...yes." Rose shut her eye. "I know from the history of the original team that keeping secrets, especially about family connections to villains is a bad idea...so I will tell you all here and now: Slade Wilson is my father."_

Xxx

**1:42 PM, April 5****th****, 2017**

**Gotham City**

**Rooftops**

"This is Echo 4, I have eyes on the target!" Star Girl shouted as she pulled out of a dive and flew along a tunnel packed with cars travelling in the opposite direction. Luckily she wore goggles to filter out the bright head lights and allow her to fly at full speed after the team's prey. "He's going to come out at the intersection outside of the Grant Tunnel."

"_I copy, moving in!_" Daemon replied, flying high above the area before folding her wings and going into a dive of her own.

"Hurry, he'll be out in a few seconds!" Star Girl insisted as the shape ahead of her reached the end of the tunnel and glided out into the bright lights of Gotham City, spreading its wings and twisting out of the way as Daemon shot through where it had been and slammed into the sidewalk. Pedestrians screamed and backed away from her, and one police officer even pulled his gun on her as he got out of his parked care.

"Stay where you are!" He demanded, and to his credit he did his best not to sound scared, not stuttering or hesitating for a second before All-Star landed between him and his target. Though a minor hero, the sports themed teen was recognized on the news as an associate of the Justice League.

"League Associates, stand down!" All-Star held up a badge with the official League emblem on it while retracting the grapple line he had used to swing down to where Daemon had landed. "She's with my team!"

The officer lowered his gun. "A-alright, sorry." Now he was just stunned and getting over the brief rush of adrenaline he had received from Daemon's sudden crash landing.

"Daemon, get me up high!" All-Star turned to his team mate. "We're losing the target!"

The magical heroine gripped All-Star beneath his arms and took flight as they tried to catch up to Star Girl and the fleeing winged creature. Star Girl held her staff out and attempted to reign the flyer in, but it became a whisp of smoke as soon as the rope of light looped around it, shooting down into the shadowed alleys of Gotham's downtown area.

"Echo 01 to all units, converge on our general location! Target has gone to ground!" All-Star shouted as Daemon and Star Girl flew down to where they had last seen the cloud of smoke. "We need to cordon off this block, or it'll lose us."

"_Echo 04, I'm closing in._" Several dozen feet and a few buildings away Ravager expertly weaved through traffic and halted at the mouth of another alley leading into the collection of apartment complexes and storage units. "_Echo 05, go up high and keep the area illuminated. That thing could slip past us in any of the shadows. Echo 02, Echo 06, keep to the perimeter. Echo 01, Echo 03, move in with me._"

"Why is she acting like she's our leader?" Daemon muttered bitterly as Star Girl flew up and use her staff to fill the alleys with light. "Batman hasn't decided on an official team commander yet."

All-Star turned to her and held up one finger to his mouth, signalling for silence before indicating for her to fly up, pointing to a fire escape and following it up to the roof of the building on their left, a ten story apartment building. Daemon huffed, but nodded and flew up to the roof top, checking it for their target.

"_01, 03, report._" Ravager said, moving through the very shadows now used by their prey to avoid capture.

"_Yeah, alright 04._" All-Star sighed. "_No sign of the target yet._"

"_05, anything from where you are?_"

"_Negative,_" Star Girl replied. "_Wait, wait! I see it! It's heading east!_"

Ravager immediately turned around. "_I just came from there! Keep your eyes on the target 05! 01, 03, converge on my position!_"

"_It's heading towards me,_" Nebula Girl whispered through the radio.

"_06, do not engage! Let us handle it!_" All-Star insisted.

"_I don't think I'll have any choice 01,_" Nebula Girl sounded nervous. "_I-I see it, it's heading right for me and it isn't stopping!_"

"_Nebula, just let it past and I'll maintain pursuit,_" Cyborg insisted, driving a motorcycle of his own and just down the street from where Nebula Girl stood by Ravager's motorcycle. "_Don't take any unnecessary risks-_"

Suddenly the sound of stone shattering and a pained shout made the members of Echo move faster. Star-Girl and Cyborg were the first on the scene, staring at the figure on the ground at Nebula Girl's feet. The youngest member of Echo was wearing what she referred to as her 'Nebula Suit'. It was pitch black and covered her from neck to toe, and was sleeveless. She wore steel toed boots with it along with gloves and a dark blue mask that covered her upper face. Her hair was tied back in a loose pony tail, and a set of white lenses built into her mask covered her starry eyes. White stars were laced into the sides of her pant legs and gloves, with one more resting on her mask between her eyes.

"...I got him," She said numbly before looking up at cyborg. "He swung at me."

Cyborg sighed and rubbed her head. "Good job, kid."

"She disobeyed a direct order," Ravager said as she moved past them. "Don't compliment her for it. If you can't follow orders and avoid putting yourself in danger recklessly-"

"I'm in the least amount of danger!" Nebula Girl snapped. "And you're not our leader Ravager! You act like it, but that doesn't mean you can start bossing us around! I stayed on the perimeter, and he attacked me! I had to do something and I wasn't going to let him walk by just because for some reason none of you can get the fact that me being the youngest on the team doesn't mean _I need you all to protect me!_" She turned and stormed out of the alley.

"...she has a point you know." All-Star said. He and Daemon had shown up in the middle of Nebula Girl's rant at Ravager, who was cuffing their downed target. "You treat her like she's made of glass, but...you saw her in the training room before we came out here. She's probably in the least amount of danger."

Ravager sighed. "...she's just a child, she shouldn't be out in the field like this." She hauled the cuffed creature up against the wall. "And while durable, she might one day let that go to her head and take on somebody stronger than her, somebody a lot stronger than Tommy Terror."

Xxx

**11:03 AM, April 5****th****, 2017**

**Watch Tower**

**YJ Training Room**

**Two hours ago**

"_You're the daughter of one of the League's worst enemies?! The Light's Enforcer?! He shot me just a few days ago you know!" All-Star shouted as he paced._

"_Tigress' father was once the Light's Enforcer, yet she is trusted here." Rose narrowed her one eye at Nathan. "How is my situation any different? The League brought me in knowing full well about my family connections."_

"_Yeah well I-" Nathan paused, taking a deep breath. "...you're right. I'm sorry Rose, I...I overreacted. If the League and the leading operatives trust you then...I guess I can give you the benefit of the doubt." And seeing as his own brother's touch could make somebody pop like a balloon, he had no right to call on her being an assassin's daughter when he was a psychopath's brother. "How did you end up on opposite sides?"_

_Rose crossed her arms. "A long time ago my father was training my brothers and I to follow in his footsteps. Myself, Joseph and Grant Wilson were his apprentices more than his children, and...he had us on full missions into places that children of your country will never even know the existence of when we were only ten years old. We weren't given light assignments either...we had to kill people, sometimes numerous people...he never believed in going soft on us."_

_With the team listening intently, some looking on with pity and others flinching away Rose continued. "Then, just before he went to work for the Light, my father took us on a mission into the Amazon Basin to search for a hidden UN facility. When we got there we found...well...a training facility to government sponsored Meta-Humans."_

"_I've heard about that kind of thing," Cyborg interrupted. "The Government has always been trying to encourage heroes to become official agents instead of joining the League. They like having powerful people under their control...even I got an invite once."_

_Rose nodded and put her helmet back on. "The mission went south from there. We barely infiltrated the base before a half dozen psychics and a technopath had detected us. We fled into the rain forest, trying to signal our father for help, but he never came. Joseph...he was infected by the venom found in the sap of a tree...I didn't know the species...then again there's always something new to be found in that jungle. We had to carry him back for three days, and even then we could do little to help once we had medical supplies. Grant contracted something while we were at the base, and over time it began to affect his emotional inhibitions...he slowly became more aggressive and out of control over the time it took us to get out of there."_

_She paused for a breath. "...when our father finally came, Grant lashed out at him. He tried to kill him, father tried to kill him in defence...and I got between them." She held one hand to her eye patch. "...I got in the way, and Grant pulled his knife on me. If I had been a little slower I'd be dead instead of half blind. After that...my father killed Grant, and Joseph fell into a coma by the time we got him to a real hospital. And with me in my condition my father forced me to undergo an operation to try and restore me to full capacity. He deemed me...his 'true apprentice', and told me that I was to inherit one of his greatest secrets: Serum 82."_

"_...I seriously have no idea what that is," Cyborg said when the team looked to him for an explanation. "I mean it, nothing in the STAR database or even on the internet, and the moment she said it I ran a check for it."_

"_That is because Serum 82 is one of the most closely guarded secrets in the world, dating back over a seventeen decades." Rose sighed. "It has the eighty second incarnation of an original super soldier formula being developed in the late 19__th__ century by Russian scientists, later hijacked by the Chinese after a scientist went rogue and sold the samples of Serum 01. The Chinese kept experimenting with it until World War Two, when they attempted to create a series of super soldiers using what was then called Serum 16. That was the first successful incarnation of the Serum, as it enabled soldiers to temporarily boost their senses, agility and suppress fear. They became innovative and powerful...but the serum began to cause damage to their bodies over time, and all of the subjects either died or were left as brain dead husks by the end of the war. China kept it covered up by only sending their soldiers to isolated areas, making sure to kill all enemy soldiers to prevent word from spreading."_

"_Later on the British acquired it from the Chinese in a secret trade and began to work on their own versions which were shared between the two countries. The British had three more successful versions of the formula, but each had to be taken repeatedly over time to maintain the boosted physical and mental effects. Finally an American scientist, Hank Meersman, whose grandson Robert went on to found STAR Labs developed a way to permanently bond the serum's effects to its host."_

"_He developed a virus that would genetically alter the subject, making the changes permanent and to a greater effect. However by this time numerous samples had leaked out, and the British government had authorized the samples to be seized and destroyed to cover up the security breach and controversy. But...a few samples got out, and Meersman eventually was brought back in around the time of the Vietnam war to finally create the perfect version of the Serum that was used on Deathstroke and myself."_

"_How do you know about all of this?" Daemon asked, suspicious._

"_...because my father told me, and Meersman told him." Rose replied coldly. "My father is older than he appears. He looks to be about forty, fifty at the worst and in amazing shape...my father was born in the 1930s. During the Vietnam war he was recruited for America's first active super soldier program, and is so far it's only surviving member."_

"_Wait, so Slade is over eighty years old?! The serum is prolonging his life too?" All-Star was amazed by the idea that human hands had created something so powerful: a serum capable of making a strong, intelligent and long lived super soldier like Deathstroke. If only it was used for good..._

"_My father took care to secure the only samples of Serum 82, which is why there are no other incarnations of it today." Rose continued. "He forced me to undergo an operation that injected the Serum 82 Virus into my system. I woke up days later...and...one perk of the serum was that it was supposed to induce cellular regeneration. But instead of bringing my eye back it..."_

_She shook her head. "You don't want to know what it did to me...only that after that I took Joey and went underground. The League found me after the Reach invasion, and I offered to give them plenty of info on my father and his cronies in return for protection for myself and my brother. He's in an infirmary at STAR labs where they're trying to bring him out of his coma."_

_Now Rose Wilson stared at her team, arms crossed and her mask hiding her expression. "There, you have my life's story. Anybody else care to share?" The tone of her voice was level, but it was clear that she hadn't meant to sound so aggressive when she asked the question._

Xxx

**1:42 PM, April 5****th****, 2017**

**Gotham City**

**Skyline, onboard JL commissioned short range star ship 'Javelin Mk I' Number 3**

The Javelin starcraft were the League's solution to a lack of Zeta Tubes as their ranks and Young Justice's grew over the previous year. Many heroes who were either without a Zeta Tube conveniently located nearby or a friendly flying hero to lend a hand were given one of these small scout craft, which easily packed the firepower of a gunship and a top speed exceeding that of any normal aircraft on Earth. Of course the one on loan to Echo Team not equipped with deadly weapons, but had a cloaking field which allowed them to safely detain, transport and question the captured super villain known as Fiend, AKA...

"Daniel Harris," All-Star glared down at the cuffed, winged teenage boy who was shifting from side to side nervously in the aft compartment of the Javelin, "seventeen, born here in good old Gotham, son of Michael and Natalie Harris and a Meta-Human, Class Two. Subject's Meta-Gene activation has triggered a series of physical alterations, primarily on their back where two wings have sprouted and at their lower jaw where it appears that the bone has separated to allow the lower mandible to split into four different segments at will."

Fiend hissed, his lower jaw indeed splitting while his forked tongue rattled.

"..." Unaffected, All-Star continued to read from a data pad he was holding. "Transformation bears features of bats, avian species, and apparently snakes. Chemical analysis of his system confirms that he was exposed to the Meta-Gene formula like Superboy was, forcing his Meta-Gene to activate rather than naturally occurring; also like Superboy any chemical traces are tainted and cannot be properly analyzed to give the League any leads to follow. However...note that prior to his sudden Meta-Gene manifestation last month Subject Harris worked at the Gotham Zoo." He looked at Echo Team. "And what does that tell us?"

"That his Meta-Gene matches the established pattern of opportunity found in others," Ravager answered, sharpening her sword on a seat opposite of Fiend. "And that the Zoo is where it was activated by this Meta-Gene formula. So we go to the Zoo and take air and water samples from interior areas where this Meta-Gene formula could have been." She held up the blade so that she could examine the condition of the edge while peeking past it and smirking at Fiend from under her mask. "Or maybe we can ask our funny looking friend here to tell us if he saw anything weird around the time he began to grow fur and wings."

Fiend whimpered and looked down, but All-Star interrupted any further plotting against the imprisoned Meta. "Clear the aft cabin, now."

"We still don't have a team leader yet, kid." Star Girl crossed her arms and fixed All-Star with a glare. "And you and Ravager seem pleased to share the spot."

All-Star turned and lowered the visor of his mask, allowing Star Girl to see him give her what could have amounted to the Bat Glare-all of the heroes in Gotham seemed to acquire a talent for this, Bat Clan or not. Star Girl squirmed a bit and backed off, leaving the aft cabin of the Javelin with Cyborg and Nebula Girl. Ravager watched them go before staring back at All-Star. "I can tell that this is personal, but at the same time I'd rather not leave you alone with this thing." She held up her own data pad. "Sonic screams are one of his powers and we don't have a collar for him. You don't want to be stuck back here alone."

"Fair enough," All-Star nodded and shut the door to the cockpit as Star Girl opened her mouth to object. "Engage lock, All-Star 01."

"_Lock engaged._"

All-Star faced Fiend and flexed the fingers of each hand. "You knew a pair of metas a few years back: Nathan and Robert Shepherd. They worked for Black Mask alongside you. Tell me where Robert is."

Fiend shook his head. "Ain't heard of Robert since he and Nate split! Rob went around blowing people up, and Nate got all upset over it, started acting like one of you heroes."

Clearly not satisfied, All-Star reached down and grabbed Harris by his tattered and thin shirt. He lifted the winged meta up, not needing an ounce of his energy reserves to summon the strength as he slammed Fiend against the wall of the cabin. "_You_ vanished with Robert, Harris. You went with him, and were spotted with him for months along with the other Metas who left Black Mask besides Robert's brother. You all left Black Mask, stayed together and then found a new employer. Now tell me who it is."

Fiend glared down at All-Star. "No use trying to act like you're the Bat, bro. I know you heroes, and you won't-hey!" All-Star swung the cuffed meta around and set him next to Ravager.

"...She isn't a hero," All-Star walked over to the doors. "Bear that in mind. Ravager, I know you hate orders but do everything you can to make him talk." He opened the doors. "I'll leave you two alone."

Ravager smiled beneath her mask as the doors sealed shut again and locked. She turned her head towards Fiend, who cringed. "So...let's talk about Mr Shepherd and your other friends, shall we?"

Xxx

Barely five minutes later the majority of Echo was back in the aft cabin, the Javelin flying over the Gotham Zoo.

"They promised us fifty grand each to start us off and help us settle down, and then a steady rate of two hundred grand a year along with free services." Fiend was spilling everything now. "Then they gave us posts, assignments. I got Gotham and they said I had free reign as long as I keep attention away from Gotham Zoo."

Ravager, who was sitting next to him with one arm draped around the frightened boy's shoulder, leaned her head on his shoulder and opened her visible eye. "You're such a good boy Fiend, you just needed the proper trainer. Now be a sweet little runt and tell them the best part."

"And-and Robert comes by every month!" Fiend blurted out more information while trying to lean away from Ravager. She tightened her hold on him to keep him in place, and he squeaked in fright. "He says that he's one of the Light's Enforcers now; he reports right to Death Stroke!"

All-Star's hidden eyes narrowed. "Figures, Rob always did like to brag."

Daemon raised one eyebrow. "You know this guy?"

"We have a history," All-Star turned away and walked to the cockpit where Cyborg was sitting in the pilot's seat. "Keep the stealth field up and land us on a roof overlooking the zoo. We'll contact the League for further instructions."

Xxx

**1:58 PM, April 5****th****, 2017**

**Watch Tower, Ops Center**

"Teams are still engaged or on high alert in all sectors," Black Canary announced, handling three screens of data on her own as her hands danced across each. "Hawkman and Hawkwoman are reporting in: Hawk and Dove are secure, and Cobra troops have been repelled."

"Good, have them extracted to the Watch Tower," Batman did not take his eyes off of his own screen as he, Black Canary and Aqua Lad continued to coordinate heroes worldwide. "Forty percent of all targets have been recovered or secured from hostile attack. Have we lost anybody?"

AquaLad consulted a screen off to his left. "Green Arrow has failed to respond, and Captain Atom has reported failure to secure Booster Gold. Felix Faust is engaged against Dr Fate in New York, and Captain Marvel is on his way to assist."

"Booster Gold will have to wait until all of our allies are secured," Black Canary insisted. "After this onslaught is over we can delegate a team to locate and rescue him."

Kaldur shut his eyes. "If he is still alive by then."

Suddenly they received a transmission from Javelin 03, and Kaldur dismissed is current screens to open a visual link to Echo Team. "Watch Tower, Echo Team, have you apprehended the target?"

"_Affirmative,_" Cyborg answered. "_We also suspect that the Light has been testing exposure of the Meta-Gene formula at the Gotham Zoo._"

Batman stepped over to Kaldur's side. "Eco Team, you are to head for the Gotham Zoo and take air and water analyses. The Zoo has a security system provided by Wayne Enterprises, so we can survey footage of Fiend's employment there prior to his Meta-Gene being activated. We will update you with likely areas to check. I doubt that the Light will have stopped dumping their formula there when Gotham has a high number of Meta-Humans appearing every month, a number of them in the younger age groups."

"_Like kids who visit the Zoo,_" Star Girl realized. "_Watch Tower, maybe the Zoo isn't the only public area where the Light may or may not have tested their formula. What if they're dumping it in other places where you can find lots of people, especially children? Like schools or subways or-_"

"We can follow further leads _after_ you investigate the zoo, Star Girl." Kaldur said calmly. "Still, you may be correct. For now though we need you to focus on your current assignment. With the rest of the League and the Team engaged across the board, Echo remains our only completely covert squadron. We need you to operate out of the spotlight."

"_Right...understood, Watch Tower." _Star Girl sounded a little dejected.

Cyborg sighed. "_We'll begin our survey now Watch Tower, Echo Team out._" The screen shut off, and moments later an alert caused the image of Blue Beetle engaged in combat with Poison Ivy in London, England to pop up.

"Delta Team is engaged, five hostiles and no sight of Shining Knight in the area." Batman read Blue Beetle's automated report, sent by his scarab's AI. "Gamma Team is to reroute to London after they finish clean up in Paris. Get Super Boy out of the infirmary and back into active service, we need him to help Gamma finish up with Killer Frost."

Kaldur sighed. "At this rate we'll be engaging every super villain we know of, and then some. What does the Light hope to gain from this?"

Xxx

**2:34 PM, April 5****th****, 2017**

**Gotham Zoo**

"I thought we were running leads on Intergang, why am I looking at a mucky pond looking for Meta Gene formula?" Daemon demanded as she lifted up a Chemical Analyzer taken from the Javelin, which remained parked and cloaked on a nearby structure overlooking the now closed Gotham Zoo. A quick call to the Mayor's Office with mention of a 'potential infestation' by the Watch Tower had made sure that the place was closed off so Echo Team could work without prying eyes.

"Fiend has been seen with Intergang operatives and picking up Intergang dead drops recently. That's why Batman assumed that he would have a connection. Finding out the source of his Meta Gene's activation is just our current objective." Cyborg explained calmly as he finished scanning the droppings of several monkeys on the far side of the Zoo from Delilah. "Oh and you guys can stop looking at the animal food and waste bins; there's nothing off about them. Shift your attention to the separate water filters and check the washrooms."

"Already on it," Ravager responded, stepping out of one of the public washroom structures. "I checked both the men and ladies' rooms to see if the filters could be storing or allowing the formula to pass through. Skin contact allowed Super Boy to unlock his own instantly, but perhaps if diluted in water there is a delay."

Cyborg nodded as he flew up and out of the Monkey Cages. "That or they could have created an alternate formula with an intentionally set delayed activation time so that they could observe anybody exposed without immediately giving away the source of the formula." He landed on solid concrete. "It would look weird if people began to suddenly shoot lasers out of their eyes or get all hairy while washing their hands, that and it would cause a panic which would have brought the League's attention weeks ago."

Daemon flew up and scoped out the Gotham Zoo, which was split into four sections for the team to search. In the upper left quadrant Cyborg and Star Girl had finished their search and were heading south to help Ravager in the lower left quadrant where the washrooms and snack stands were located. Daemon had just finished examining the aquariums in the lower right quadrant, and Nebula Girl was with All Star in the upper right quadrant...

Or they were supposed to be.

"Hey, I can't see All-Star or Nebula," Daemon reported, flying down to land at the central structure in the heart of the Zoo property, a three story structure where the Zoo employees worked, rested and ate. "Echo Oh-One, Echo Oh-Six, where the hell are you two?"

"_Relax Oh-Three, we're inside._" All-Star spoke up through the radio. "_Nebula Girl had a theory that she wanted to check out._"

"Did you finish up in your quadrant?"

"_Not yet, but we've found something you'll want to see._"

Daemon sighed and hopped down to the front entrance of the building where All-Star opened the glass doors for her from the inside. "I thought the Zoo Keeper wanted us to stay out of here. How did you two get in?"

All-Star held up a key. "Night Wing taught me the basics of lifting a few things, and that Zoo Keeper wasn't the brightest bulb." He ushered her in. "Don't worry, the League is making the cameras play looped footage. After they got the older security records they didn't want us to be picked up on the news; _Glorious Godfrey_ would have a field day if we were found here instead of the incoming CDC team."

"Gee, you relieve me of all my worries." Daemon sighed. "All-Star, you can't just go around deviating from the plan whenever it suits you."

"Nebula just wanted to check the Employees' Lounge. It's one of the only rooms here without a security camera, and it has a private bathroom along with a water fountain, vending machine, and lockers where employees sometimes store their lunches." All-Star explained. "All of which we did within a hundred seconds, where as I think you spent ten minutes with the Penguins." He cracked a smile a bit as he led her upstairs and into the Employees' Lounge where Nebula Girl was sitting on a chair, lightly kicking her legs up and down.

"I checked everything," She said to the two older heroes. "Take a look at the lockers."

She nodded to the lockers lining one side of the employee's lounge, opposite of the fridge and counter that was rather...too clean. Nathan and Delilah had worked part time jobs before and found that generally employees' lounges were a mess despite the best intentions of workers. Yet this one was perfectly kept and cleaned, with every dish stored and cleaned and the sink sparkling.

Daemon knelt by an open locker. "This is the locker that Harris was using when he worked here." She held up her Analyzer, and a blue light illuminated the inside of the empty locker. "...and it has trace elements of an unknown compound."

"The same 'unknown' compound that the Meta-Gene is made of." Nebula Girl explained. "Somebody specifically planted it in this and those other two open lockers." She pointed them out. "One belonged to Tyler Fields, and the other to Muriel Greene."

Daemon raised one brow. "Can't say I've heard of them."

"Both are known members of Intergang, and are meta-humans." Nebula Girl pulled her radio out of her ear. "I called AquaLad to ask if there was any record of them. These two apparently stopped working here around the same time as Danny Harris."

All-Star smiled and rubbed Nebula Girl's head. "Good work, you just caught us a lucky break. That's three Meta-Humans with ties to Intergang afflicted by the Meta-Gene serum. We should regroup and inform the League of our findings."

SLAM!

"No actually, you won't be doing that." They all turned to see the now closed door blocked by six men and women, some around their age and others in their late twenties or early thirties. All of them shared three things: an athletic build, grim expressions, and familiar looking energy rifles.

...

"Fire!" The head Zoo Keeper shouted, and the Intergang squad disguised as zoo workers opened fire on the surprised Echo members. Daemon quickly angled her wings to act as shields, deflecting several shots. All-Star pulled a single smoke pellet from his belt and flicked it with his thumb, sending it between Daemon's wings and making it bounce and roll halfway to the Intergang team before exploding, filling the room with smoke in seconds.

"Go!" All-Star darted out from around the metallic wings and extended his bo staff to its full length. Nebula Girl ducked as Daemon returned her wings to their regular position and dove out of the way of the barrage of deadly lasers.

"_Echo Team, alert!_" Cyborg shouted through the radio link as All-Star managed to get close to one of the Intergang soldiers and scooped up a chair without stopping. He slammed the chair into the man's ribs, doubling him over and making him drop his rifle. All-Star used the man as a stepping stone to leap over the rest of the team and reach the door. "_The zoo employees are packing Reach-Human hybrid weapons! This is definitely Intergang! _"

"No, really? I had no idea." All-Star muttered as he tried to pick the lock. "Wait, why am I doing this?!" He stood up and raised one leg up, charging the kick with his powers so that it sent the door flying off its hinges. "Daemon, Nebula: retreat!"

Daemon had pounced on one woman, wrapping her legs around her victim and slamming her hands down on top of the woman's skull. The Intergang operative collapsed, and Daemon leaped up while spinning in mid air and swatting another of the Intergang members in the face with her wing. "Coming!"

All-Star turned to rush down the stairs only to find a seventh gunman aiming a now charging energy rifle in his face. He threw himself back, but was saved instead by the man being flung up into the ceiling where he was pinned there, groaning with the effort of trying to free himself. Nebula Girl rushed past him, one hand pointed at the man while Daemon kept them covered with her wings.

"Echo Team! Confirmed Meta-Gene Serum particles located in the Administration building! Converge on our location!" All-Star shouted as he darted down the steps with Nebula Girl and Daemon right behind him. Just as he reached the bottom however a foot slammed into his jaw, spinning him around as a dark clad woman-he could tell from the shape of her body beneath her full body suit and light armor flew past him. Nebula Girl caught him as he fell backwards, and straightened him up as three others clad in dark suits and armor dropped down from the ceiling of the lobby.

"...League of Assassins," Daemon hissed, folding her wings tightly to her back as the Intergang operatives back up top rushed down after them. "Typical."

One of the Assassins pulled out a pair of sickles and crossed them, the sound of metal singing against metal making All-Star cringe even as he got his bo staff out. "Daemon, take the Intergang goons with the guns. Nebula, take the two on the right!" Then the assassins switched formation even as Nebula Girl raised one hand to use her gravity powers just as she had on the gunman and Fiend before. While trying to follow her targets she accidently put All-Star in her line of sight, making her hesitate long enough for one Assassin to strike her in the side with a kick that launched her off her feet.

Daemon spun and fired a single blast of magical fire up the stairs that exploded and knocked the three Intergang members off balance. One rolled down the stairs while the other two just barely grabbed onto the railing to stop their fall. With them out of the game she turned to the Assassins, one of whom leaped through the air and thrust one foot towards Daemon's face. She crossed her arms to block it, only for a mechanism built into the assassin's armor over his leg to glow up with a whine and release a surge of pure force that knocked Daemon back against a wall, denting it.

She coughed and stood up, noting that the technology was similar to All-Star's Kinetic Energy Cell, though rather than storing Kinetic energy it just released it. The assassins wore an apparatus of sorts that linked to the mechanism on each limb of the four assassins, who all moved faster and hit harder than usual.

"Oh great, as if they weren't bad enough before, now they've gone and gotten an upgrade." All-Star said as he used his bo staff to repel a blow from one of the two assassins he was facing. The punch snapped his weapon in half-that really happened far too much for his liking. He gripped the half containing the taser module and activated it, causing the tip to unfold and spark as he ducked under a round house kick from one of the two assassins and jammed the taser into the modules augmenting their performance. The man's apparatus sparked as he gave choked groan of pain, and All-Star used his own Kinetic Module to spin and deliver a kick that sent the man flying back before a sharp pain erupted from his back.

He stumbled forward and choked down the scream that almost tore itself from his throat. All-Star turned to see the second assassin twirling a knife, and some investigation found another that was already buried into his lower back through his armor, luckily missing his spine. All-Star clenched his teeth and unfolded his crossbow, combining it with his grappler module as the female assassin moved in for the kill.

Meanwhile Nebula Girl was dodging numerous attacks from her own opponent, who was using a set of twin swords. The girl showed an affinity for acrobatics that left All-Star green with envy when he had seen her in the training room, but as she continuously twisted, ducked and rolled to avoid being sliced apart she seemed to be pulling at her mask as if to move it aside.

The sword wielding assassin crossed his blades and made to slice through Nebula Girl's neck, only for her to lift her mask up enough for him to see her starry eyes. He paused for a moment, put off by how unnatural her appearance seemed. Her eyes glowed bright yellow and then unleashes twin beams of light that were so hot that the man felt it through his armor, which had thermal settings to keep him at a comfortable temperature at all times. The beams melted his swords down to the hilts, and then the girl stopped the attack and pulled her mask back down.

"What are you?" The assassin whispered, staring at the remnants of his weapons.

"Nebula Girl's the name, and those were concentrated beams of solar energy." Nebula Girl replied before spinning and kicking the man in the face. "It's like a very powerful lens, you're lucky that I was only aiming for your fancy swords."

Daemon caught the fist of the third assassin as he threw a punch at her. This time she augmented her stance with a magical barrier that allowed her to stop his attack and begin to bend his hand back. He groaned in pain as a 'crack' came from his hand, and Daemon delivered a punch to his jaw that sent him flying into the ceiling and then fall back to the floor without a sound.

All-Star fired his crossbow at the final assassin's legs, only for her to move to the right in mid charge. He dove to the side as she slice at him and darted around him, expending energy from his reserves to increase his speed enough that the assassin quickly found herself tied from ankle to chest level. She had raised her arms up so that they were not restrained by All-Star's attack, but she was definitely exposed now. Even as she tried to cut herself free All-Star activated is taser module and fired two cables from his arm opposite of his cross bow. The Kinetic module increased the force and velocity of the cables, which dug right through the assassin's armor and knocked her off balance while delivering a shock to her.

"Echo 01, Admin Building secured." All-Star said as he retracted his taser and folded his cross bow back up. "Presence of Intergang and League of Shadows confirmed."

"We know," The three Echo members looked to the entrance of the building where their team mates stood...with two others present. "These two gave us a hand with the ones outside," Cyborg smiled as he nodded to the two older heroes...

Nightwing and Red Arrow.

"So, you're the new squad?" The former of the two veterans asked, twirling an eskrima stick in one hand. "Nice to meet you, but I think we're going to be a little too busy to get formally acquainted."

"Let's not take too long," Red Arrow insisted, slipping his bow over one shoulder. "If my wife finds out that I'm back in costume I'll be sleeping on the couch for a week."

Xxx

End of Episode Four


	5. Interim One: Superboy

Young Justice Echo

_In the aftermath of the Reach Invasion's failure, new heroes have stepped up to join the combined forces of the Justice League and Young Justice. A new team, Echo, has been formed and immediately finds themselves facing a new enemy, and a new invasion._

I do not own The Justice League, Young Justice, or any and all characters associated with either the shows, comics, etc. All are property of DC Comics.

Xxx

YOUNG JUSTICE, SEASON THREE, ECHO

Interim – Superboy

**3:43 PM, April 3****rd****, 2017**

**Metropolis**

**The top of the Daily Planet**

CRUNCH! Wonder Girl, AKA: Cassie Sandsmark crashed headfirst into the gold colored globe atop the Daily Planet. She had always found the globe to be a hazard waiting to happen before it had been knocked off of the roof by every Tom, Dick and Larry to have a fight on it and now she found it to be a pain in the ass...or head in this case. She flipped in mid fall and planted her hands on the roof after gravity peeled her off of the side of the orb.

Pushing off, she landed on her feet and standing upright while pulling her lasso from off of her belt-Wonder Woman had finally drilled it into her young apprentice to keep it close at all times. Above her, Wonder Woman was engaging what looked like a very pale and sickly looking man in a dirtied and scratched Superman costume. The Amazonian's punches could shatter tank armor and send her regular foes flying, yet this man was barely sent reeling by them despite all of the effort she put into her assault.

"Bizarro," The chalky skinned man grunted as Wonder Woman punched him again. "Not like pretty girl when she," This time he caught her fist and bent her hand back, making her yelp in pain before she could compose herself. "Pick on _Bizarro!_" He spun around and sent Wonder Woman flying through a nearby sky scraper.

"And I hate it when Bizarro can't learn some punctuation," Cassie remarked as she flung her lasso at the imperfect clone of Superman-another one of Luthor's inventions that the team had encountered over the year. It had been an effort to replicate a purely kryptonian clone without using any human DNA like with Superboy, and obviously Bizarro had come out disastrously wrong considering his child like mentality, violent behaviour and distorted appearance-if he was nicer she wouldn't have minded that last one.

The lasso closed around Bizarro's waist, and Cassie pulled the startled clone down, slamming him into the roof of the Daily Planet. Cassie then pounced on Bizarro and tried to wrestle his arms into the loop of her lasso while he was dazed, however he swung clumsily with one arm and backhanded her hard enough to send her flying off of the roof and down into the streets of Metropolis, crashing into an intersection a block away.

"Ow..." Cassie groaned, lying in a newly formed crater and surrounded by startled spectators. "...I'm never going to take pleasure in watching Superman or Superboy beat up crooks again."

"Can you make an exception for ugly up there?" Cassie opened her eyes and saw a hand being held down towards her. She smiled and grasped it, being pulled to her feet by Connor in his dark blue and red Kryptonian armor, accompanied by Gamma team!

"Cass!" Tim Drake, Robin II and the leader of Gamma had just gotten off of the Javelin which was hovering over head via rappelling cable. He immediately an over as Lagoon Boy and Beast Boy joined them. Finally, Ms Martian floated down as the Javelin, on auto pilot, went to find a safe area to land.

"Neptune's Beard!" Lagoon Boy commented as he looked at the devastation being caused in the distance by Bizarro. "_Another_ clone of Superman?!"

"No offence SB, but we seriously have too many Kryptonian clones these days." Beast Boy, AKA: Garfield Logan said after returning to his humanoid form, keeping his money like features that served as his way of disguising himself when not in animal form.

"None taken," Superboy replied, actually smiling a bit at the green skinned boy who was like a younger brother to him. "Now let's bring Bizarro in before he ends up killing somebody." He bent his legs a bit and looked up with a look on his face of determination...it reminded them all too much of Superman every time he took off to fight...

Then for the first time since his birth, Connor Kent shot into the air just as his brother would and flew towards Bizarro, who had grabbed Wonder Woman as she dove at him and gripped her by the neck with enough strength to keep the Amazon, who could give Superman a run for his money pinned. She gripped his wrist and struggled to suck in oxygen.

"Bizarro break Pretty Girl!" The deformed clone reared back his other arm in a parody of the right hook that Superman often used for his stronger villains, but was slammed in the side and sent flying while releasing Wonder Woman. Super Boy stopped, gripped Bizarro by the collar of his costume and spun around, becoming a twister of blue and red before he flung Bizarro out away from the city and over the bay. He crashed into the waters of the harbor in an explosive splash that rained down droplets on the nearby docks as startled citizens watched as a young man who was too small to be Superman flew out and hovered over where Bizarro had hit the surface.

Glancing down, Connor used his enhanced vision to try and locate the defective clone, and saw a blotch of red representing his target rush up towards him and burst out of the waves too fast for him to react. Connor grunted as Bizarro slammed into him, tackling him around the waist and sending them both flying towards the large suspension bridge that connected the two sides of Metropolis divided by the harbor.

Bizarro furiously landed blow after blow, punching Connor with enough force to kill an ordinary human. They had left behind the shallower waters of the harbor in the blink of an eye and were three seconds away from hitting the bridge, during which both of them traded attacks with such ferocity that they could be heard like claps of thunder for miles. Finally Bizarro tackled Connor around the waist and roared, shooting right for one of the stone towers through which the bridge ran.

Seeing the incoming structure by glancing over his shoulder, Connor worked to avoid slamming into them. He gripped Bizarro and began to focus on using his TTK field, using his force of will and spinning both himself and Bizarro around. Bizarro groaned and began to repeatedly say 'whoa' until Superboy moved them aside, missing slamming through several suspension cables. He slowed them down enough that when they hit the surface of the bridge they barely cracked it, the two fighters sliding across the road as cars screeched to a stop.

Connor flipped onto his feet and finally slid to a stop, standing up right. He saw Bizarro's eyes glow as the clone growled at him.

"Pretty Boy _burn!_" Bizarro unleashed twin beams of red energy, and Connor crossed his arms. He tried to focus his TTK field to increase the protection around his forearms and use it as a force field, but to his surprise the beams passed right through and slammed into his Kryptonian Armor. He slid back, groaning with the effort of keeping the beams from hitting him in the face.

By the time Bizarro stopped Connor's forearms were blackened, but luckily the Kryptonian made suit had held and protected his skin. _M'gann! My field, it didn't stop Bizarro's heat beams!_

_We're on our way._ Ms Martian assured her boy friend. _Just hold him for another minute!_

_Affirmative!_ Connor said before rushing forward, his TTK field propelling him and increasing his already formidable sprint until he crossed the distance to his opponent and cracked him across the jaw in the span of a second. Bizarro stumbled away, blinking before snarling and throwing his own punch. Connor ducked under it and weaved around the larger fighter, spinning and delivering a kick to the small of Bizarro's back that sent the deformed Kryptonian face first into a thankfully abandoned van. The bystanders had wisely moved away and were watching the super powered battle from a safe distance.

Connor was thankful for the years of training with Black Canary, one of the world's foremost martial arts experts and up in the ranks where legends like Batman and Deathstroke stood. Before mastering her teachings he had usually resorted to simply rushing his opponent to pummel them into submission ,but now he had control of his strength and temper, and was applying her training in combination with his powers. And against a clumsy powerhouse like Bizarro, he'd need it.

Bizarro gripped the van and swung it around, throwing it at Superboy at the speed of a fast ball. Connor slid under it on instinct, but realized that it would head for the bystanders assembled further down the bridge. He reached up as it flew over him and grabbed it...

Before unlocking his TTK it would have taken him some effort and being dragged along with it, but now the car stopped cold and responded to his commands. The citizens snapping pictures notices a red aura spreading over the car as Connor came up out of his slide and slammed the van down on Bizarro. When the attack was over however Bizarro simply tore his way through the van and slammed both hands down on top of Superboy, knocking him to his knees before delivering a kick to his chin.

Connor flipped in mid air and landed, managing to counter Bizarro's next attack by back flipping, barely passing beneath Bizarro, and kicked his feet up into the larger fighter's chest. Bizarro was flung up and shot back down again, driving his fist into the road as Connor finished the acrobatic move, his TTK field helping him to pull off the speed needed to dodge his foe. However Bizarro swung his other arm which hit Connor and flung him back again, making him slide as he landed.

Bizarro tugged his fist out of the bridge and then sucked in a deep breath.

"Oh no." Connor looked to the people gawking at the fight. "Everybody get clear!"

Bizarro blew out a breath with the force of a hurricane, lifting whole cars and flinging them away. Superboy was even lifted off of the ground and had to stabilize himself in mid air while trying to avoid being hit by something. The people had heeded his warning and fled in a panic as more cars and trucks became deadly projectiles.

Connor tried to fly closer to Bizarro, seeing ice form on his TTK field and give it an outline around him. Slowly however it began to form on Connor's skin as his body temperature continued to lower.

Thankfully...Lagoon Boy came to the rescue, something Connor would sulk about later. The Atlantean rose up out of the water, propelled at first by a hard water construct formed from his use of sorcery and then leaping with superhuman strength as his body bloated and grew in size in mid leap. He landed on the bridge and slammed into Bizarro from behind and pounded the clone into the ground. The gale forces stopped, and Connor shook off the bits of ice forming on his body. "...thanks." He muttered blankly to the Atlantean.

"You're welcome." Lagoon Boy obviously still felt bitter about Ms Martian leaving him to get back together with Super Boy, however he too had been taught to keep his emotions in check in the heat of battle and focus on what was important: ending the danger and protecting the people from harm as he just had done by stopping Bizarro's continued use of what many dubbed the 'Super Breath'.

Bizarro shot back up and slammed his skull back into La'gaan's stomach, sending the Atlantean flying back. He then shot forward and punched Superboy hard enough to send him flying back into one of the large stone towers that the suspension cables were connected to. He managed to slow himself enough that he did not smash through it and compromise the bridge as he almost had years ago.

Bizarro however did not let up and slammed his shoulder into Superboy, whose TTK field failed to stop the brunt of the attack. Connor felt the oxygen leave his body and began to gasp before Bizarro flung him around and slammed him against the corner of the tower, chipping away whole blocks with each impact. Once. Twice. Three times!

Then Connor grabbed Bizarro's wrists and swung his body around, planting his feet against Bizarro's chest and kicking him away. Bizarro was sent back a bit before stabilizing and preparing to attack again. Suddenly a punch so powerful that it sent out shockwaves that pushed Connor back into the tower struck Bizarro in the jaw, sending him flying further out away from the city.

Wonder Woman smiled down at Connor and gripped his hand, pulling him back up to her level until he got his breath back. "You've adapted to your new powers well, Superboy."

"Thanks," Connor smiled as cheers rose up from the people who had watched the fight. To be praised like Superman was...such an honor, but Connor didn't let it get to his head. He looked out towards Bizarro, who had finally stopped and was beginning to shoot back towards them. "Incoming at Mach Two!"

To most Bizarro would be a dot in the distance, but to the Kryptonian Hybrid and the Amazon he was practically in front of them considering both his speed and their enhanced vision. However just as he was less than a hundred feet out Cassie shot down and slammed both of her sneaker clad feet into the top of his head. This made him descend and slow a bit, but he turned over and grabbed her foot, flinging her towards the bridge where she slammed into one thick metal cable which held for now. The rest of the heroes present arrived in the Javelin and poured out as Bizarro looked at just how outnumbered he was now.

"Nothing can beat Bizarro!" The clone growled, his eyes glowing. "Bizarro is the strongest! Bizarro stronger than Superman!"

"Bizarro also talks too much." Connor countered. "Gamma, maneuver G-Ten!" As the Team gained more teams, each squad had to develop its own set of maneuvers unique to their set of powers. G-Ten was one of Gamma Squadron's unique tactics.

La'gaan started off by shrinking down to his normal form and calling upon his combat sorcery. The symbols on his body glowed as water rose up from the bay below and shot up while Beast Boy turned into a Pterodactyl and lifted Robin up by the shoulders. The pillar of water slammed into Bizarro and barely shifted him, but when Robin threw a special Incinerator Disk as he flew past the water became steam and distracted Bizarro even further. The clone was startled enough that he did not manage to focus and peer through the thick cloud of steam in time to see Connor and Cassie fly right at him, side by side and deliver a set of punches to his face that spun him around.

Ms Martian appeared before him and held out her hands, capturing Bizarro in a telekinetic field. He grunted and tried to pull free, but in his dazed state he couldn't summon the strength to shatter the field before Wonder Woman finished him off by shooting straight down at him and kicking him in the face as he as held in place, Ms Martian opening up a hole in the field big enough for Wonder Woman's boot.

Bizarro finally went limp, out cold and no longer a threat. Ms Martian set him down on the bridge and tapped the comm. link resting in her right ear. "Ms Martian accompanying Gamma Team here, target Bizarro has been neutralized. Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl are safe and Metropolis is secured."

"_Good work Ms Martian,_" AquaLad replied. "_Send Gamma back to the Watch Tower and prepare for reassignment. We've almost managed to quell the fighting, but governments all over are preparing to mobilize their militaries._"

"The Light hit us hard this time," Ms Martian admitted. "People aren't happy."

"What do you mean?" Beast Boy asked as he exchanged a high five with Connor. "They love us!"

"I mean the government," Ms Martian smiled all the same as she hugged her younger brother. "There's lots of collateral damage in cities all across the planet, and...even deaths. The League will have bad publicity no matter what, especially thanks to Godfrey and his show." She then found herself in the loop of Connor's arms, her chin being tilted up as he gave her a reassuring smile.

"M'gann, Godfrey is always going to blow his whistle in favor of whatever will get people mad." He said. "In a few weeks the League will have calmed the UN down, jailed a few dozen super villains, and all we'll have to do is find out how they were organized. But until then..." He kissed her, and the Martian girl wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Ewwww!" Beast Boy spat his tongue out, choosing to go over and join La'gaan and Robin.

ZOOM! In a streak of red and yellow a figure stopped in the middle of the group, making Connor and M'gann break their kiss and look to the red/yellow speedster known as Bart Allen, AKA: Kid Flash II.

"Hey! Wow, I missed it! Fighting a clone of Superman would be so awesome-well not you Connor," Bart said as he began to look over Bizarro's unconscious form while Wonder Woman produced a power neutralizing collar from a satchel she was carrying-thankfully material enchanted by the gods didn't break so easily. She knelt and latched it on around Bizarro's neck to keep him powerless. "Oh, I hate those things but good idea! He-e's so moded now!"

"Kid Flash, aren't you supposed to be over in Central City with Flash, cleaning up the Rogues?" Wonder Woman asked gently as she glanced up at him.

"Oh we handled them all, except Weather Wizard though since he got a new flying gizmo. But anyhow Flash told me to go get Gamma Team since Blue needs help over in London. More crooks showed up, some pretty new and weird looking ones!" He rushed over to Gamma Team. "BB! Rob! LB!" He hugged them each in turn. "C'mon! We gotta get to London! Ooh, race you!" He then rushed over to the side of the bridge and literally ran down the side of the stone tower before launching himself off and taking off in a run across the ocean.

"You heard him, Blue needs backup. Let's go!" Robin said to his squad as the Javelin's entry ramp opened to them again. "Ms M, Supey, are you coming with us?"

The two young lovers exchanged a glance, now aware of the flashing cameras that had caught them kissing in public-which would be a first. Superboy glared at them before sighing. "Yeah, let's go." He rose into the air with M'gann.

"Cassie, you should go with them." Wonder Woman said to her pupil. "I can keep Bizarro secured until he can be transported."

Cassie was presently surprised by her mentor suggesting they split up. "Alright! See you soon D-Wonder Woman!" She still slipped up from time to time, especially when overcome. She flew after her friends and managed to catch up to M'gann and Connor, matching their speed as they flew alongside the Javelin, leaving the coast of the US behind them. At this speed M'gann had to link them telepathically, otherwise they'd never be able to carry a conversation.

_Say M'gann, where's the Bio-Ship? _Cassie asked the Martian woman.

M'gann glanced up towards the bright blue sky. _The Atom is borrowing him to check on some lunar base for the UN. They'll be back soon but until the Atom is done his work...I'm missing the little guy._

_He'll be alright. _Connor assured his girlfriend. _We're in more danger than the Bio-Ship at the moment. Besides... _He held M'gann's hand in mid flight. _I like flying with you out here. It feels...perfect._

M'gann blushed, and meanwhile Cassie giggled. _You can cut the telepathic link M'gann, we're intruding by listening in._

_Ewwww! Is Superboy kissing my sister again?!_

_Shh! Come on Gar this is getting good!_

_Kissy kissy! I called it!_

_Neptune's Beard...kill me now._

M'gann dropped the link and groaned as she looked down. Feeling Connor give her hand a squeeze she looked up in time for him to plant a kiss on her. As he pulled back she heard something...

_I love you. _It was Connor's voice, but...he hadn't opened his mouth and she hadn't set up a link to him. _Connor, did you...?_

Slowly Connor's smile faded and a surprised expression crossed his face as he too realized what had just happened.

_Is this a good thing? _He asked. _I didn't even..._

First TTK...now telepathy? Superboy wasn't sure if he was more excited about gaining new powers, or nervous that he had just unintentionally accessed the mind of his girlfriend.

Xxx

End of Interim Chapter One


	6. Episode Five

Young Justice Echo, Volume One

_In the aftermath of the Reach Invasion's failure, new heroes have stepped up to join the combined forces of the Justice League and Young Justice. A new team, Echo, has been formed and immediately finds themselves facing a new enemy, and a new invasion._

I do not own The Justice League, Young Justice, or any and all characters associated with either the shows, comics, etc. All are property of DC Comics.

Also, I've decided that I'm not going to bother with the whole EST, UTC, etc. I'll just say what time it is at a particular location.

**File: LORDS OF ORDER/CHAOS**

**Analysis- Lords of Order/Chaos are beings of magic that are in constant conflict simply because of their natures pitting each other against the opposite side. Some interpretations of their conflict are Stagnation vs Anarchy, with neither ever truly triumphing over the other. All Lords of Order/Chaos are powerful magic users who have mortal agents, one example being Nabu and his agent: the late Kent Nelson and currently Zatara as Dr Fate.**

**An example of a Lord of Chaos is Klarion the Witchboy, code named: L-7 of the Light. He has shown to be an even match for Dr Fate in combat, if not stronger. He is considered to be the most dangerous magical villain presently at large and is to be treated as a Tier 10 threat.**

**THREAT TIERS**

**1- Minimal threat, no powers/advanced technology/magic/etc. (Most commonly given to normal criminals of some or no reputation) Has no training and is likely an individual rather than part of a group.**

**2- Minimal threat, but trained in combat or any other form of inflicting damage. Most likely individual or part of a small group.**

**3- Minimal threat, history of crime dating back more than one year, confirmed dangerous offender requiring specialized response. Likely part of a small group. No powers or advanced technology.**

**4- Moderate to Minimal threat, in possession of powers/advanced technology/magic/etc. Part of small group.**

**5- Moderate to Minimal threat, possibly part of a larger group or organization. Police unable to apprehend with conventional tactics.**

**6- Moderate threat, confirmed threat to public and at large, too powerful for law enforcement agencies. Some examples of this Tier are the Royal Flush Gang, Kobra, Intergang, the Riddler and lower ranked members of the League of Shadows.**

**7- Moderate to potentially high threat. History of combat against the League and one or more attempts at large scale destruction. Some examples of their Tier are Clayface, Mr Freeze, Icicle Jr and Tommy/Tuppence Terror.**

**8- High Threat Level, possibly a leader or member of a group or organization. History of repeated acts of violence, destruction, theft, etc. Some examples of this Tier are Bruno 'Ugly' Manheim (Formerly), Cheshire (Formerly), Deadshot, Scarecrow and Sportsmaster.**

**9- High Threat Level, one of primary enemies of the Justice League. On top of United Nations List of Enemies of Humanity. Some examples of this Tier are Deathstroke, Vandal Savage, Joker, Metallo, Cheeta, Mirror Master, Sports Master, Parasite, Ra's Al Ghul, etc.**

**10- Top threat level, cannot be confronted alone or in small numbers. Proper procedures must be carried out for each individual in this category before any action is taken. Only League Members appropriate to counter a Tier Ten Villain may engage unless others are unable to avoid a confrontation. Some examples of this Tier are Klarion the Witchboy, The Queen of Fables, Doomsday and-VILLAIN IDENTITY RESTRICTIED DUE TO BEING TIER 11.**

**TIER 11 INFORMATION RESTRICTED. IMPROPER PLACING OF VILLAIN ID WILL BE SORTED OUT AUTOMATICALLY. TRANSFERRING CRITICAL DATA BACK TO TIER 11 FILES. FILES LOCKED.**

Xxx

YOUNG JUSTICE, SEASON THREE, ECHO

Episode Five – Hunt, Part Two

**3:02 PM, April 5****th****, 2017**

**Gotham City, Gotham Zoo (Subterannean)**

**Intergang Facility 'The Cage'**

"No less than eight heroes on our front door step," The Station Commander, a former Major of the United States Marines wiped his brow of sweat with a cloth and took a breath. "You all know the protocol for this." He turned to address the thirty or so operators in The Cage's control center, which was a semi circle. He stood at the highest point near the doors while the others were spread out amidst computer consoles below, each having recently been examining a project or sifting through data regarding the facility's most primary experiment.

"Download anything vital to your discs," Former Major Owens instructed. "Anything we can't take, destroy. Wipe any hard drives we can't bring, and prepare to eliminate the subjects we have down below. Tell SolarStorm to get Subject Surtur prepared to transport."

The circular wall of the control center had windows in it which allowed them to overlook an immense room. It was comprised of three different levels separated by stairs, the lowest level leading out into a wide 'play space' as the operators called it. The walls next to the ascending stair cases were lined with numbered doors. All in all the room looked like one side of a pyramid.

The occupants were all tall bipedal creatures with pale exoskeleton like exteriors mixed with patches of purple flesh. They each had a collar around their necks that prevented the near one hundred specimens from trying anything with their fancy powers...

After all, if even one of the White Martians milling about in the prison yard below managed to get loose, The Cage would be jeopardized.

The operators began to follow Owens' orders, shutting the windows they had been working at and beginning to download all relevant data to jump drives or discs in their possession, marking each appropriately with tape before stowing them in silver brief cases. Owens and the Facility Director, a former STAR labs researcher by the name of Hendricks approached the master controls and pulled out their personal command keys.

"Preparing to initiate organic purge of the prison yard," Owens announced as the lights out in the yard turned red. The White Martians quickly became concerned and then panicked, wondering what was about to happen after being stuck in the prison for nearly a month. Both Owens and Hendricks inserted their keys into a single slot. "Organic purge in three, two-"

Suddenly both men withdrew their hands with pained yelps. Their keys were glowing bright red as if they had suddenly become super heated.

A mischievous laugh rang out as the control room went silent. "_Now that's just plain mean! I'm gonna have to teach you all a lesson._" The speaker chuckled maliciously. "_How about we let all the creepy monsters out to play?_"

Purple sparks of energy surged through every computer in the room, making the operators reel back and cover their faces as a cartoonish face with purple hair appeared on the screens, laughing at them. And throughout the facility numerous cage doors opened up...

And the lights went out.

Xxx

**Administration Building, Lobby**

"We've swept this whole building from top to bottom," Ravager easily lifted the reception desk out of the way as she continued her search. "Is it possible that Intergang has gotten smart enough not to use the overused cliché of hiding ones hidden lair beneath the most obvious building?"

Cyborg's left eye was glowing red as he scanned through the floor, searching for any signs of a structure of entrance below. "That might just be it. I can't see anything down below, and the computers here are clean, all filled with data pertaining to Zoo business."

"Don't be so certain of that," Red Arrow insisted, standing with Nightwing as they both examined the holographic screen being projected from the latter's gloves. "Intergang may have some new leaders with new ideas, but when it all comes down to it,"

The screen changed from blue to bright green as Nightwing gave a satisfied smile and finished for his older comrade. "They're still dumb as rocks. All of the files were disguised as regular things you'd find. Business, a new animal coming in, an exhibit needing to be prepped; but...I managed to break the head honcho's code, and now I can see what they really look like." He turned, keeping his left arm raised to chest level and examining the screen. "Cyborg, I need you to blast a hole in the floor."

He pointed at the center of the lobby's clean white floor. "Right there; there's a hidden hatch beneath it in these schematics. It can only be opened manually from the inside though."

Cyborg nodded. "One hole coming right up; you'll want to stand back." He knelt and opened a compartment hidden in his left forearm, taking out small patches of explosive charges and setting them on the floor. After putting some distance between himself and the explosives Victor crouched behind the frame of the door leading to the staircase.

The explosives were not as loud as All-Star would have thought, making a simple 'THUD' while sending shards of the floor flying all across the room. Echo Team along with Red Arrow and Nightwing now stood over a metal hatch and saw evidence that the floor had been attached to a mechanical system which would have raised and lowered it out of the way.

"...shame we didn't have the key to the front door," Nightwing joked. "I kinda liked all the animal paintings on that floor." He lightly tapped one marble piece that contained the face of a painted monkey. "I sure hope Beast Boy never sees this on the news."

Cyborg contacted the Watch Tower. "Echo Team to Watch Tower, have rendezvoused with Nightwing and Red Arrow and are now beginning entry into suspected Intergang underground facility."

"_Be careful, Echo Team. Intergang has a vast arsenal of off world technology, much of it not so conventional as lasers or basic weapons._" AquaLad's ID icon appeared in Cyborgs vision in the top right corner, highlighted by the voice recognition software in the cybernetic hero's built in communicator. "_Expect high resistance._"

"Affirmative," Cyborg hopped down onto the metal hatch and began to reshape one of his hands into a tool that seemed like a drill at first before it glowed bright yellow and began to melt its way through the metal door. After thirty seconds Cyborg simply stamped one foot down on the part of the door he had cut through and sent the square piece falling down into an elevator shaft below.

...

It was nearly a minute before anybody with sharp hearing heard the slightest echo of a landing.

"Okay...I vote we either call the elevator up or take the stairs." All-Star said.

Xxx

The being who had been so closely observing Earth had finally come full circle back to Gotham after witnessing countless battles between the heroes and villains of this planet. They were like gods among mortals, entrusted with the delicate balance that this planet was always at risk of losing. The heroes who protected humanity from the threats both in the light and from the darkness of other worlds; and the villains who made the heroes a necessity caused the arms race for meta-soldiers, magical arsenals that were forgotten centuries ago, advanced energy weapons, new medical technology going to creating regenerative warriors and...other wonders that would so benefit this celestial being's masters.

Now it was observing the team that had gained its interest with their sixth member's unique energy signature and powers. It was watching from the same roof top where their primitive spaceship's cloaking device had failed to hide the vessel from him. He simply sat on the roof, legs crossed again and his eyes piercing the walls of the Admin Building.

They were lowering cables down into the elevator shaft, preparing to climb down due to most of their flyers not having enough space to remain airborne in such a narrow shaft. However Nebula Girl surprised them by rising up off of the floor and lowering herself through the shaft opening.

"**Interesting...**" The being stopped leaning its jaw on one set of knuckles and leaned forward intently, watching as Nebula Girl floated down along with the others. "**Why do you seem so...familiar?**"

Xxx

"You can _fly?_" Star Girl asked as she descended alongside Nebula Girl.

"Generate a gravity field around myself," Nebula Girl corrected the older hero. "It's actually similar to how Super Boy can now fly with that telekinetic force field of his."

All-Star hushed them both from down below where he was perched on the edge of a closed door frame. "We're in enemy territory." He and Red Arrow gripped the gap between the two doors and began to pull in opposite directions, forcing the doors open for Nightwing to swing down through.

"Clear," He waved the rest of Echo Team down and through. First Daemon and Ravager rappelled down and kicked off of the wall just above the doors. They flipped as they flung themselves through the door and over Nightwing, releasing themselves from their cables and landing in perfect synchronization. Nightwing chuckled and clapped softly.

"For all that armor you're rather agile," Ravager complimented her magical counterpart.

"Thanks, I was the top in gymnastics before uh...this happened to me." Daemon shifted her metallic wings.

"Great, now if you don't mind: clear a space." Cyborg whispered, a reel of cable coming from his left arm and lowering him down from where he had left his grappling hook at the top of the shaft. He swung back, pushed off of the opposite wall and landed with a dull 'thud!' while retracting his cable back into his wrist.

They had entered a well lit two story room and were standing on a balcony overlooking the lower floor. The walls were a gun metal gray and the floors white. There was some furniture scattered on the lower floor. There was also a reception desk at the back of the room with a couple computers on it.

"Cyborg, can you hack into the database and bring up the interior schematics?" Nightwing asked, not folding his Eskrima sticks back up just as the rest of the team did not relax their guard.

Cyborg stepped behind the desk, his arm unfolded and releasing a cable that he inserted into one computer. "Accessing...got it." His left eye projected a three dimensional image of the Intergang facility. "This facility is code named 'The Cage' and its primary function is to contain biological life forms for research and inevitable termination."

"Squeeze that sentence down a bit," Red Arrow requested, securing one of the lower floor's three exit points alongside Ravager.

"Holding things to be experimented on and killed after they're useless." Cyborg stated, unplugging himself from the computer. "The files on just what are locked down, along with most of the base. Something triggered a security alert in the lower levels-"

Suddenly the lights snapped off, only to be replaced by red tinted alert lights. A synthesized male voice began to repeat a sing sentence. "_Security alert in Sub Level One. Security alert in Sub Level One._"

"Cyborg," Red Arrow narrowed his eyes beneath his domino mask. "Please tell me that security is just as absent as everybody else."

"There are several large clusters of life forms, but they're all down in the lower levels and an area labelled as Evacuation Terminal." Cyborg's projection suddenly had numerous red flashing dots in it. "And...just one coming up in the elevator through the shaft we just came out of."

Nightwing knelt and squinted. "...no, it isn't."

He stood up. "Everybody, clear the center of the room!"

Echo Team quickly rushed to the sides of the room or took flight as something rose up out of the floor...

"What is this?" It briefly reminded All-Star of a Genome, but it was too different...

"White Martian!" Red Arrow shouted, turning his bow on the tall albino creature, which had a collar bolted into its skin. The Martian was taller than even Cyborg, and had some definite masculine features compared to Ms Martian; for one its shoulders were broader, and its limbs visibly thicker and more toned, more powerful.

Its eyes glowed a bright white color as its form began to reshape into an immense creature that was likely not of Earthly origins. It was large enough to be an elephant, yet was shaped more like a rhino and had a massive gaping maw with six eyes rather than a horn. It shrieked and set its sights on its first target: Ravager.

"...Crap." The masked girl muttered as the alien beast barreled towards her. She sprung into the air and flipped as she landed on its back, digging one of her swords into the thick hide and using her free hand to fire her gun point blank only to see that it was not even bleeding. However she did note that the collar seemed to expand and move with the White Martian.

"Ravager, get clear!" Nightwing shouted as he slid two discs out of his utility belt and held his arm in a position ready to throw. As soon as the one eyed heroine did a back flip off of the Martian and onto the second floor balcony's railing Nightwing threw the disc at the floor around the rampaging White Martian as it turned to find new prey.

The discs exploded and spread flames across the floor, making the White Martian back away.

"All-Star, I need you up high with your Crossbow and Taser modules ready!" Nightwing shouted. "Daemon, some magic fire would be pretty handy!"

"Why? He looks like he's already-" Suddenly the fire sprinklers came on and doused the flames within seconds. "...Oh." All-Star crouched as the White Martian regained its courage and lunged for him. He leaped into the air and tried to match Ravager's perfect landing on the railing, only to stumble until she caught and balanced him.

"Don't try to be fancy," She said. "Just shoot the damn thing."

All-Star unfolded his crossbow and hooked up his taser module to it. "Understood." Down below Cyborg had grabbed the White Martian as it transformed into a winged creature with a long serpent tail and a humanoid upper body. He grappled with it as it pushed him back.

"All-Star, hold your fire until the team is clear!" Nightwing shouted as he and Red Arrow fired discs and arrows respectively at the White Martian. He had been reminding All-Star that the entire room was now wet, and that the taser module could shock them all as well as the Martian. "Cyborg! The ceiling! Ram it!"

Cyborg nodded and activated his built in jets, shooting up into the ceiling of the room and making sure that the White Martian hit first. However it then slammed both of its hands down and sent him flying into Nebula Girl as she flew in to help, resulting in both her and Cyborg smashing through the reception desk below. The White Martian then zeroed in on Star Girl, who swallowed. "Uh, guys?!"

She held her staff out to form a barrier only for the weapon to be struck from her hands. With her magic lost Star Girl began to fall. "AaaaaaaAH-" Nightwing dove through the air, caught Star Girl, and after flipping once in mid leap landed in a crouch, setting the younger team member on her feet.

"Get your staff!" He urged her before Red Arrow was forced to dodge out of the way of the White Martian's claws. Daemon dove down and slammed into it from the side, managing to create a nice little crater in a wall as she punched the White Martian repeatedly. It caught her fist after the fourth hit and swung her around into the wall a lot harder, thankfully her armor kept her protected until its eyes glowed brightly and released twin beams of energy that began to slowly melt through it.

Daemon began to scream by the time Nebula Girl rose from the pile of splinters, easily pushing Cyborg off of her with one hand as she floated into the air. "Enough!" She did not bother to pull her mask aside as she unleashed the same highly concentrated solar eye beams she had used upstairs. They dug into the Martian's back, making him shriek in pain as he stumbled away from Daemon. He reacted by levelling his own eye beams at Nebula Girl, the two attacks cancelling one another out.

"Now, everybody up to the second floor!" Red Arrow helped Daemon to walk up the stairs while Nightwing retrieved Cyborg with help from Star Girl. "All-Star, she's not on the floor so she won't get shocked. Fire the arrow!"

All-Star nodded and released one electrically charged bolt into the soaked floor...

And the Martian arched its entire body as a current of electricity ran through it. Nebula Girl stopped, her mask's lenses reduced to nothing from her hasty use of her solar beam attack. The Martian fell on its side and twitched feebly as the torment finally stopped. Its collar, which had once again shrunk with it, sparked and then fell off.

"The collar's off...is that good or bad?" Red Arrow asked, crouching and peering through the glass floor of the second floor balcony.

"Guess we'll just have to see." Nightwing looked to Echo Team. "Echo, prepare to take him down if you have to. A Martian is almost as dangerous as a Kryptonian, we have to be ready to neutralize him."

The eight assembled heroes prepared their respective powers and weapons as the Martian slowly got back on his feet, shrinking down into a less intimidating form...

He looked like a regular human, except for the fact that his white flesh and the orange eyes still remained. He also had created a single piece outfit of black material that was sleeveless and covered him from his neck to his knees, shaping out into shorts and a tank shirt. Groaning, the Martian blinked and got up. He released a series of hums and clicks from his jaw before stopping, examining each team member's masked or confused face.

_Apologies, I forgot that Earthlings do not know the Martian dialects. _They heard him in their minds...

Ravager leaped down and held one sword to the Martian's throat. "If you are reading my mind you may expect a quick end, Martian."

He backed away and held his hands up defensively. _Please, I am not! I swear. I am only linking our minds telepathically so that we might communicate; or more specifically so that I might communicate my gratitude to you for saving me from that infernal collar._

Nightwing set one hand on Ravager's shoulder. _Stand down Ravager; if he was reading our minds, we would feel it._ He looked to the Martian. _Who are you and what are you doing here?_

The Martian relaxed. _My name is Leh'yon, and I am here because I was tricked along with many of my kind into leaving the cradle of Mars to come to Earth._ He began to project images into their respective visions.

Being approached by a supposed 'ambassador' from Earth who had witnessed their abuse and mistreatment by green Martians, the promises of glory and a better life like that of the Martian Manhunter and Ms Martian, and the month long imprisonment and experiments conducted upon them by the Intergang officers.

_These people who call themselves the Intergang have been analyzing the genetic material of my people. _Leh'yon explained. _They give no explanation why, and more and more of us never return from their labs. They had used that collar on myself and the other stronger Martians of the group to make us into their soldiers, should my people attempt to escape._

"Intergang deals in alien technology, why would they focus on the Martian physiology?" Nightwing wondered aloud.

_I managed to glimpse a few thoughts due to my collar only dampening my telepathy rather than disabling it entirely. They were still fine tuning a method to perfectly contain their chosen guard dogs. Intergang has been doing this since gaining information on the alien species known as the Reach and their research into something called a Meta Gene, a phenomena found on Earth in spades._

"...they took a leaf from the Reach's book." Red Arrow said. "Or at least that's how it looks and sounds. We should get some solid and material evidence before we jump to conclusions. We're just thinking based off of something from the past; it could be for any number of things."

"Agreed," Nightwing looked down. "Leh'yon, are your people still alive down there?"

"Yes," Leh'yon said out loud, startling the whole team.

"You can talk?!" Cyborg glared at the Martian, wishing he had sprung for having a laser installed in his left eye.

"I am telepathically translating our two languages to make it easier for us." Leh'yon explained, hands folded in front of him. "I thought that it would be easier than a full telepathic conversation. I've just never had so many involved in one link before, so I apologize."

"It's fine," Nightwing chose to diffuse the situation before the annoyed members of Echo could vent their growing anger on the Martian. "Leh'yon we need you to take us down to the holding sectors of the facility. The elevator is out and..." He trailed off as he turned to the elevator doors, which slid open with a 'ding!'

Purple electricity was sparking from the cables on the top and bottom of the suspended metal box. A small shape stifled a giggle as she watched the heroes, who were utterly at a loss to explain how the elevator was working again.

She would be waiting for them when they finally got the guts to come down. For now she was looking for a way into the one part of the base shielded from her magic.

Xxx

Many levels below, only a single room besides the filled cell blocks was occupied. A single occupant stood on a metal catwalk, looking down at what looked like an operating table lacking a patient. Many instruments mounted on spindly arms hung over the surface ominously, looking like the perfect set for a horror movie.

"Darwin," This lone man spoke out loud, eyes still fixed on the table. "Is the procedure ready?"

"_Affirmative Solar Storm,_" A computerized voice responded. "_If we begin now there is a seventy-four percent chance that it can be completed before the intruders reach this area._"

"I'll take those odds." The man known as Solar Storm stepped down into the center of the room and stripped himself of the white shirt he wore over his upper body. "For a chance to become that strong," He lied back on the table and shut his grey eyes. "...for a chance to finally put Nathan in his place."

Robert Shepherd's mouth slowly curled up into a smirk as the instruments began to move down towards him and his limbs were restrained.

"_Shall I apply anesthesia, Solar Storm?_"

"No, just get on with it."

The first blade sank into his flesh, but Robert did not scream; not through the whole operation even as his veins felt like they would explode out of him and his bones would shatter.

He didn't make so much as a peep.

Xxx

At first suspicious of the elevator's sudden availability, the team sent Daemon in first. Her magical powers and protective armor would allow her to escape if anything went wrong.

Upon descending to the Containment Sector of the Cage she stepped out into the control center overlooking the prison yard where dozens of panicked White Martians were huddled together in groups, their collars preventing them from escaping.

Tapping her ear piece, she contacted her comrades. "Daemon to Echo, I've found the Martians and what looks like a control room. Send Cyborg down and let's see what he can find."

Leh'yon sank through the ceiling of the room several moments later and deposited Victor on the floor.

"That. Felt. Creepy." The cybernetic hero muttered. "And I don't even have a sense of touch on most areas of my body anymore." He sat in the empty chair once occupied by Major Owens. "I'll see what I can do from here; they probably have an external communication system I can use to contact the League. We need to get these Martians out of here and into protective custody. If the UN finds out that Martians have been illegally immigrating to Earth it'll be a PR disaster for the League and aliens in general."

"Forget PR," Daemon crossed her arms. "I don't think the Martians will be happy if they find out humans have been holding their people."

"I would not count on such outrage on part of Mars." Leh'yon admitted, shutting his eyes. "My people, the White Martians, are seen as second class by the ruling Green Martians. Few will bother to remember, fewer will care, and none will act."

"You're kidding me, right?" Daemon turned to the Martian boy, who walked over to the window and pressed one hand against it as he stared down at his fellow Martians. "Why, because of your skin color?"

"...it is simply how it has always been." Leh'yon closed his eyes. "Why do you think so many of us foolishly came to Earth seeking better lives?"

Daemon looked down, her wings dragging on the floor a bit as she walked over. "I'm sorry, Leh'yon."

The boy glanced up at her, not surprised by the pity she had for him and his kind. "I am sorry to spill my emotional troubles on you, Daemon of Earth."

"Delilah," Daemon smiled softly. "...call me Delilah."

Xxx

"I don't trust him." Nightwing said.

"I don't blame you," Red Arrow responded while the two young men continued to rappel down the elevator shaft. "If you took his word at face value I'd call you a fool."

"I'm only younger Roy, not dumber." Nightwing stopped at another set of sealed elevator doors, planting one foot on the edge. "If Leh'yon really is a deep cover operative, then it's a good thing Ms Martian put the mental blocks in our heads."

After the Reach Invasion M'gann had wanted to make sure she could not be tempted to abuse her telepathy against her team mates or on-again-boyfriend. She spent hours in session each day for nearly a month creating fortified mental shields in each member of the Team, something that had left her exhausted and in bed for nearly twice as long

Still, this precaution had come in handy once she had trained them to raise and lower these mental ramparts. They had allowed Leh'yon a brief glimpse into their minds while safeguarding things such as their identities, and no more.

Their radios buzzed before Daemon spoke to the two veteran heroes. "_Elevator's clear. We've located around a hundred plus White Martians, all with power inhibitors._"

"Keep them there for now until we're sure that the base is cleared of hostiles." Nightwing stopped on the edge of another set of doors. "We're also going to look into the research labs that Cyborg pointed out on level eight." He and Red Arrow slid their fingers into the gap between the doors and slowly began to pull it open. The two young men slipped through and did not pause except to unclip themselves from their rappelling lines.

"Down the hall, third security door on the right." Red Arrow muttered, being reminded of his missions alongside members of The Team back when it had just been a few teenagers. "Here!" He slapped the door as he and Nightwing slid to a halt, the latter engaging his glove's built in computer and inserting a small cord into the control panel next to the door.

Ten seconds later they hissed open, giving them entry to a vast four story room. The main floor was littered with dozens of desks that lay abandoned now, and the upper floors led to smaller lab rooms where experiments were conducted.

"Jackpot," Nightwing turned on one computer. "Or maybe not...nothing on the hard drive. It's been wiped clean," A quick look at a few more computers confirmed that Intergang had purged their files before evacuating. "Cyborg, the lab computers have been wiped."

"_We have a bigger problem: there's a huge energy signature just a few rooms from you in a room sealed by four layers of security doors._" Cyborg responded. "_Leh'yon could get you through though. Want me to send the rest of the Team your way?_"

Nightwing glanced at Red Arrow, who hesitantly tapped his own radio. "Affirmative...Echo Team, converge on Level Eight."

Xxx

"It's worked." Robert handed the case over to Deathstroke, who had entered the room via Boom Tube alongside Raven. "I'll stay and test out its effectiveness, but for now we know that the Martians are actually useful to the main plan."

Deathstroke accepted the case. "Excellent; I'll make sure your service is noted, Solar Storm."

Raven's eyes suddenly glowed from beneath her hood. She looked up at her older partner. "They are coming, and a Martian is with them. Also..." Her brow furrowed as she looked off to the shadowed corners of the dimly lit room. "I feel a magical presence here. It could have to do with the sudden systems purge that released the test subjects."

"If it does, it isn't our problem." Deathstroke decided. "We've done our job here Raven, it's time to report back."

Raven's scowl could not have grown any more pronounced. "And leave a possible magical threat to be unmonitored? That's an idiotic decision even for you, Wilson. Tell the council that I'm remaining behind to observe."

Deathstroke shrugged and formed a fresh Boom Tube behind him. "Your choice." He turned and vanished into the portal, which snapped shut once he was gone and left the room in near darkness.

Solar Storm smirked, hands on his hips. "So, you're willing to say no to the council?"

"I'm willing to have some initiative." Raven replied as she began to melt into the shadows. "I hope you are...your brother is here."

The door to the door exploded inwards, flying past Solar Storm as the room flooded with smoke.

"...Welcome." He turned to the intruders, his eyes glowing red.

The members of Echo Team were treated to a shocking sight. The single man in the room was tall, almost as tall as Cyborg, and just the right combination of being muscular and slim to give him the form of an athlete. He wore non descript dark clothing that left his arms bare and fingerless gloves. He had no visible weapons, but a quick check of the Justice League database by Cyborg identified the man...All-Star was still the first to identify him.

"Robert Shepherd," Nathaniel's eyes narrowed beneath his mask. "Solar Storm."

"Oh...brother, you came after all!" Solar Storm turned, showing a face that looked just like Nathan's beneath his mask...but he looked to be several years older...Robert was supposed to be the same age as Nathan. His features gave him the appearance of a man in his early or mid twenties! "And here I was worried you wouldn't be caught dead within a mile of me."

"Brother?" Ravager glanced at All-Star. "And I thought I had undesirable relations."

A glare from behind the black visor actually managed to convince the white haired assassin to back down and remain silent. All-Star glared at his brother and reached up to remove his mask. A series of clicks came from the neck section of his armored outfit, signalling that the mask was disconnecting. Finally he undid the straps around the back of his head and lifted the mask clear to show a face similar to Robert's, only looking younger and cleaner shaven. "You look older."

"Is that supposed to be accomplishment?"

"You're ten minutes younger than me."

Robert smiled. "Ohhhh." He nodded as if in understanding and snapped his fingers as he raised one hand up, pointing at Nathan. "Jealousy, I see."

His hands began to glow red. "But don't worry, I promise you won't even have the capacity for envy when I'm done here." He raised one hand, clenching it into a fist.

"...Guys, his powers are like sunlight without an atmosphere to protect you." Nathaniel warned the team. "So _take cover!_"

Robert fired a blast of red light at the group. Nathaniel dove forward, holding his hands up as the others took measures to avoid or protect against the blast. The blast struck him, allowing him to take the brunt of it while Daemon erected a magical shield that kept the rest of the group safe from what got past their comrade.

When it was over Nathan's gloves were charred black, but besides that and some other burns on his clothes and some of his equipment being incinerated he appeared to be fine. In fact he was now glowing!

Cyborg ran an analysis of Nathan as Daemon lowered her shield. "It's like he...absorbed it, like he does with kinetic energy."

"I did," Nathan replied as his gloves finally crumbled as ashes. "It's the one thing I _can_ absorb besides kinetic energy. It's always been like that ever since our powers developed."

Star Girl turned to see that parts of the blast had melted clean through the door behind the team. "Yeesh...please tell me you didn't feel what that door went through."

"That's one reason that I came here, brother." Robert lowered his arm. "You see, with my powers I could leave Superman and Superboy crawling, or set the Martians on fire where they stand, or even overcome Captain Atom, take his power in to be my own. But you see...you're that one stain on my record, the one thing I simply can't hurt. So...Intergang got in contact with the Light about a handy new operation that would help me out. You can't tell but..."

He jerked a thumb at the operating table, which was stained with blood. "That's all mine. No anesthesia or anything either. I was in a hurry after all."

"...what did you do to yourself?" Nathan was torn between demanding and pleading an answer.

"...I made myself better...stronger..."

iEvolved./i His voice echoed through their minds.

"Telepathy!" Nightwing blurted out. "Leh'yon, I need you to-"

"I know, I know!" Leh'yon hastily pushed his way past the team members and set his hands on his head. "I-He's trying to access our minds! I can't stop him!" The whole team felt a low but growing pain in their skulls, growing with each heart beat and disorienting them. Even Cyborg, who had been unable to effectively join the telepathic network due to the machinery attached to his brain felt the telepathic onslaught.

Robert rose up into the air, hovering over the team. "It took a few weeks and brainwashing one of your Martians friends down there into simulating a world where I have these powers. But...I think that I've taken an academic concept and applied it quite thoroughly: telepathically training somebody in how to use powers they've never had before, and then giving them those powers so that they can use them without any real training." He clapped once. "The ultimate shortcut, ain't it? Now...am I going to just turn you into vegetables?"

Suddenly Nathan felt his body turn against his will, facing his team and shuffling towards them as Daemon created a sword made of magical energies given a shape. "Or...should I have you off one another?" Robert's eyes were glowing bright green now, like Ms Martian's would when she was accessing her psychic powers. "...nah, I'll just turn you into veggies and get it over with. Better safe than sorry, am I right-"

_You talk too much._ A voice snickered, infiltrating his own telepathic network. The members of the team, who had been seconds away from being rendered catatonic by the now telepathically gifted Solar Storm felt the strings controlling their minds being cut. _Classic villain mistake! You think that people would learn, but you villains just love gloating too much!_

Robert clenched his jaw and searched for this new presence. "Oh great...so this is what Raven was going on about...what the hell are you?"

Sparks of purple electricity filled the room, coming from every electrical device built into the walls, floor and ceiling. It focused on a single spot where, in a flash of light a small figure appeared. It was a little girl with dark purple eyed and matching hair set in pigtails, quite an odd combination with her dark skin. She wore black combat boots and clothes of a mixed arrangement of black and purple, including a leather jacket with fur on the cuffs and edges of the half length coat.

"Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?" Star Girl whispered.

Nightwing kept a cool head and silently relayed orders through the telepathic network the team had through Leh'yon. _Daemon, Star Girl, you're our resident magic users. Can you identify her?_

_Negative. _Star Girl shook her head. _But she's got magic oozing out of her, Night._

_More than me,_ Daemon added. _But more power doesn't make you the better caster. If she's a threat I can handle her._

_Do we even know who or what she is? _Nathan asked before the girl turned and looked him straight in the eye...

And she winked. "I'm a little pixy! Did the purple hair and shiny theatrics not give me away?"

Daemon sniffed the air immediately, frowning. "That smell..."

"I don't have time for this!" Robert fired a second blast of red energy, twice as large as the first one. The energy hit the girl before anybody could react beyond dodging or creating a shield once again in Daemon's case.

...

"Now, you're wasting my time." The little girl, who appeared to be no older than ten said as she crossed her arms, standing unharmed by the blast and behind a screen of purple energy. "You work with the Light and I want to know where they-" She paused as something fluttered down from the ceiling of the room. A grey feathered raven with black and red wings landed on one outstretched arm and leaned in towards her ear. "Hm? Another one? Alright, alright! Sheesh, not my fault I didn't detect it. Harpy Girl there never smelled her either." She jerked one thumb at Daemon before taking a breath. "Come out, come out where ever you-" The girl clapped her hands together. "ARE!"

A wave of magical energies struck the surprised Solar Storm and made him slide back. He threw a telekinetic barrier up and held his position, but the shadowy corners of the room stirred before a familiar woman collapsed out into the open, hands on her head. "Ugh...chaos magic." She glanced up, her eyes glowing red and now divided into four beneath the shadow of her head. "So you're what I detected: a kid throwing around the magic of primordial chaos like candy at a store."

"And you!" The girl pointed accusingly at the woman. "The...uh...lady who wears a swim suit to battle."

"Raven, you deal with her." Solar Storm began to glow with red energy as he walked forwards towards the group. "I'll deal with the rest of them myself." He spread his arms to the sides, keeping them below shoulder level with his palms up...

And he rose off of the ground and floated into the air.

"Telepathy _and_ flight." Nightwing looked to the operating table and then to Leh'yon. "...So that's what this is all about." He reached into his utility belt. "Martian powers in a human body. You found a way to isolate the source of the Martian abilities, harvest them, and adapt them to the human body."

"Well it wasn't a clean process, let me assure you." Solar Storm held his hands out and tore panels out of the walls, formed them into jagged spikes and shot them towards the team. "Over a hundred others perished on that table." The team evaded or deflected the spikes.

"Some became deformed monstrosities."

Nightwing began to rush around to Solar Storm's left flank, batting away one spike with an eskrima stick.

"Others shifted their densities and passed through objects only to become solid and be sliced in half."

Cyborg blasted another set of spikes away while All-Star began to expend his kinetic energy to increase his speed and strength, knocking away spikes with a swift barrage of kicks as he spun and ducked.

"Others simply went mad." Daemon shot through the next barrage of spikes and fired magical lightning at Solar Storm.

He held up one hand and created a telekinetic barrier which shielded him from the attack. "One even popped like a balloon." He flicked his hand, and a telekinetically formed projectile slammed into Daemon and sent her flying back into Cyborg, who slid back only to be stopped by Nebula Girl. Daemon steadied herself and leaned to the right to see around Cyborg.

"Neb, you're full of surprises. Thanks again." She took flight while Cyborg patted Nebula Girl on the shoulder and rejoined the fight.

"Hey!" Nightwing called out as he threw something at Solar Storm. "Catch!"

The disc he threw exploded, and Solar Storm backed away despite having absorbed the explosion with a telekinetic barrier. It had been an incendiary explosive, leaving flames on the floor just a couple feet from him. He groaned and began to sweat. "...Crap..."

"Martian powers," Nightwing said as he rushed in. "Martian _weaknesses!_"

He leaped into the air and aimed a kick at Solar Storm's head, but the man managed to hold up one hand and stop him in mid air only for Red Arrow then to shoot an arrow at his feet that released another incendiary explosion. Solar Storm screamed and stumbled away from the flames. "Get it away! Get it away!"

Nightwing landed on his feet, released of the telekinetic grip and made a second attempt at the younger man. He punched Solar Storm in the jaw, spinning him around for Cyborg to blast with his sonic cannon, knocking him on his back.

"It's over Robert," All-Star said as he landed next to his brother's form. "You don't have the hang of those powers for all of that 'mental training' you did for them."

Solar Storm's eyes snapped open. "My name. Is. SOLAR STORM!" Energy exploded out from his body, forcing Nightwing to leap back while All-Star held up one hand and let the energy pour into him. It felt like a constant rush of energy instead of the brief surges he got from absorbing blows. His Kinetic Energy Cell began to whine as it already approached its limit, and he began to take the energy into his own body.

"You can't harm me with your powers," All-Star said to his brother as the man got up. "Just give up."

"Never." Solar Storm growled, glaring at All-Star.

"...then we're doing this the hard way." All-Star decided before throwing a powerful kick at Solar Storm's jaw that knocked him back. He followed up with gripping his brother's head between his hands and leaping up, jamming his knee into Solar Storm's ribs. However the enhanced meta gripped his leg in one hand and his opposite arm in the other, and swung All-Star around before throwing him against a wall.

"I'm not so dependent on my powers either, brother." Solar Storm chuckled, raising one hand and blasting Cyborg back as he ran to All-Star's aid.

Nightwing noticed something going on in the other fight. "Daemon! Star Girl! Go help our new friend against Raven!" He looked at Leh'yon, who had stayed back from the fighting. "Leh'yon, I know you're scared but if you can help us in any way-"

"I understand," Leh'yon nodded. "I've...never fought a true battle like this. I froze up, I apologize." He lifted himself into the air. "No time to hesitate...must act!" His eyes glowed green. "Must act _now!_"

Xxx

Raven and the purple haired child were shooting all over the room, exchanging blasts of magical energy and barely dodging their opponent's blasts or blocking them with barriers. The child even turned into a streak of purple light to dodge out of the way of Raven lifting the table with the force of her will and sending it flying at her at the speed of a bullet train. The child reappeared and stuck her tongue out. "Missed me!"

THUD!

The operating table had been ripped up out of the floor and shot at the younger magic user, who vanished and then reappeared in the same spot while the table was buried into the wall behind her. "Temper temper!" She wagged one finger and smirked. "C'mon, stop tryin' to hit me and hit me!"

Suddenly she was encased up to her neck in black energy and hoisted into the air, guided by one outstretched hand as Raven glared from under her hood. "Little brats like you shouldn't toy with the arcane."

"And spoilt daddy's girls shouldn't give lectures!" The child replied. "Ying!"

Her pet raven flew down and fluttered in front of her for a moment before suddenly beginning to expand outwards. It took on a humanoid form that bulged with muscle hidden beneath the layer of feathers, and a growl escaped it as it clenched its fists and launched itself at Raven. She hadn't been prepared and was quickly punched into the ceiling before creating a defensive orb around her as Ying spun as he reached her, one of his razor sharp wings shrieking along the surface of the barrier. Raven dropped the barrier and blasted Ying back, but Ying's owner had taken this chance to break free and shot up at Raven, cloaked in purple fire as she slammed into Raven, shoulder checking her and creating an even deeper dent than Ying had. "HAH! Perfect strategy! Glad I thought of it!"

She looked to Ying, who shook his head as he rose to his feet. "Good job distracting her Ying! Now..." She struck a dramatic pose. "Execute Plan ZZ Plural Z Alpha!"

Ying tilted his head.

"...Okay I got that off of Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It was a good movie!" She pouted. "I mean just partially 'un alive' that witch!"

Ying rolled his eyes as Raven recovered and folded her cloak around her. When she flapped it open again tendrils shot out and whacked Ying aside, but the anthromorphic bird landed on his feet and slid a few feet before shooting forward. His owner back flipped into the air and landed on his back. "CHARGE!"

She held her arms out to her sides and conjured more chaos magic. The floor beneath her began to bubble and shift before tendrils shot out of it and intercepted Raven's magical limbs, allowing Ying and his owner to reach her without harm. The girl leaped off of Ying and reared back one arm. "Banzaaaaai!"

She punched Raven back, and Ying grabbed the woman by her cloak and swung her around into a wall. Raven finally collapsed to the floor, groaning in pain. The younger magic user landed in front of her, hands on her hips and Ying shrinking down to his normal form before taking his perch on her shoulder. "Show you to mess with me!"

Raven slowly tilted her head up...and opened her still glowing eyes, all four of them. Suddenly the operating table tore itself out of the wall and slammed into the girl, sending her flying as the breath was knocked out of her-and a few bones were cracked and a few more broken. Usually she would use magic to help absorb a great deal of the damage dealt to her, but it required her to know of the impending damage and prepare for it at least a half second in advance. With how Raven had used her sneak attack the purple haired girl may as well have been a normal girl being slammed by the table, luckily it was not heavy as, say, a truck.

However Daemon caught the girl and cradled her small body protectively while Star Girl swept in and blasted Raven back with a burst of magic from her staff. Raven grunted and formed a barrier with one hand. "Solar Storm! Have you had enough fun with your powers?"

"Not until one of these brats are dead!" Solar Storm replied before Leh'yon made his declaration.

"Must act _now!_"

Suddenly a concentrated blast of telekinetic energy slammed into the startled Solar Storm just as he was lined up with Raven. Both villains were flung across the room and slammed against the far wall. Leh'yon held out his hands, his arms quivering. "He is trying to break free...use fire! It will distract him!"

_I believe I can be of assistance without any fire._

Suddenly the strain that Leh'yon felt vanished, and he looked up with astonished eyes to see a figure known to all of Martian kind: a living legend among his own people...the Martian Manhunter. He was floating next to Leh'yon, clad in his black suit and blue cloak with one hand outstretched. At the same time he was using the will of his mind to suppress Robert's. "I see that Kaldur was not mistaken in sending me here." He looked down at Leh'yon and gave him a reassuring smile. "You can stop now young one. I can handle them from here."

Leh'yon lowered his arms. "J-J'onn Jonzz!"

The Martian Manhunter moved his arm to the right a bit, and both Solar Storm and Raven lost consciousness as they struggled to escape his grip. Fortunately, Raven had been too disoriented to call upon her magic; an advantage the Manhunter had taken advantage of.

"AquaLad contacted me, informing me of the situation." The Manhunter explained. "I was unable to believe that so many of my kind would come here, but at his insistence I decided to investigate." He looked down at Leh'yon. "I can now say how glad I am, but I must ask you young one...how did Intergang manage to get you here from Mars?"

Leh'yon blinked and looked down in shame, averting his eyes.

The Manhunter frowned. "..." He sighed and rested a hand on Leh'yon's shoulder. "Leh'yon, you felt as many White Martians do. I cannot blame you for wishing to come here for a better life, but you know as well as many that Earth does not take kindly to unauthorized visitors."

"Will you be sending us all home?" Leh'yon asked.

"...No." J'onn J'onzz decided. "I have a better idea." He looked to the members of Echo Team along with Nightwing and Red Arrow. "Excellent work, all of you. Now, STAR labs is sending a unit over to secure this facility. In the meantime we should get her," He looked to the unconscious purple haired girl in Daemon's arms. "To the Watch Tower for medical assistance."

"I won't argue with that." Cyborg smiled before looking down at his partially melted chest plating-now visible due to the synthetic skin over it being incinerated and chuckled nervously. "A few seconds under that guy's powers and I'd have lost something a lot more important."

He looked to All-Star, expecting him to share a chuckle with him, but Nathan was crouched over Solar Storm's unconscious body.

"...why?" All-Star whispered. "Robert...why did you have to do this?" He shut his eyes. "Why didn't I stop you when I had the chance?"

Xxx

End of Episode Five


End file.
